November 6 - December 20, 1997
Carol Sun's Herstory, China Mary Series #3, 1992
Ben Diller's Amazing Growth
Skowmon Hastanan's Graceful Traveller Chcolate Scented Flowers
Yuri Marder's You can't close me with walls deserted places are dear to me, 1994
Rudzani Nemasetoni's Susanne Altmann, 1997
Eugn-Ho Park's #7 train & Beyond,, 1997
The word immigration conjures up images as varied as the experiences of immigrants themselves — images of hope and fear, joy and sadness, images with the power to alter our view of ourselves as individuals, and as members of a larger community. In the past as well as the present, immigration has provoked national debate, so it should not surprise us that it has inspired the work of so many contemporary artists. Trial by Water features the work of artists who speak of their own experiences, or those of parents or grandparents, in addition to artists who document the struggles of others. The promise and reality of the American Dream raises many of the issues that define our humanity -- ethnicity, religion, race, gender, family, labor and the economy. With the exception of Native Americans, we are all relative newcomers to these shores; to lose sight of this is to minimize the accomplishments of this country and deny its underlying principles of democracy.
Trial by Water was organized by guest curator, Fred Yee, and featured the work of B. Amore, Vladimir Cybil, Ben Diller, Skowman Hastanan, Yuri Marder, Eung Ho Park, Mel Rosenthal, Carol Sun, Ward Yoshimoto, and Alexander Zane.