Look Both Ways

Overview

Hosfelt Gallery will inaugurate its new San Francisco venue with the group exhibition, Look Both Ways, opening at 260 Utah Street (at 16th Street) on September 8, 2012.

Both a culmination of the gallery’s 15th anniversary and a preview of programming in our new 8,900 square foot San Francisco space, Look Both Ways reflects the culture and values of the gallery, centered on the belief that art should challenge, alter and expand one’s definition of self and reality.

Look Both Ways commemorates a history of 219 solo and thematic group exhibitions in our New York and former San Francisco venues as well as presents a foretaste of upcoming shows, including the introduction of several new artists to the gallery’s roster.

Consistent with the philosophy of Hosfelt Gallery, the artists in Look Both Ways make work that is grounded in a broad understanding of history — visual, cultural, political and social. Their synthesis of knowledge and skill results in artworks that are forward looking, rather than being nostalgic or derivative.

Look Both Ways also signifies the ways in which artists apprehend the world and interpret their observations in their practice. Making art is both outwardly and inwardly focused.

Look Both Ways challenges viewers to understand the difference between what is perceived at a glance and the complex layers of meaning that unfold with prolonged looking.

Look Both Ways alludes to work that exists on one level when seen from a distance, but that is something else up close. A different meaning may emerge when the viewer shifts perspective — analogous to the value of examining life from a vantage point other than the one you’re most accustomed to.

Look Both Ways is a tribute to the opportunity that art provides, to the thoughtful viewer, to observe the world from another’s perspective, and to look within for a deeper understanding of one’s own beliefs and prejudices.