Birds shun such trees

*Chris Austin  *Aria Carter  *Nikki Heusman  Minami Kobayashi   Siggi Sekira  Ross Simonini

Guest curated by Jackie Im and Aaron Harbour of Et al.
* indicates Arts of Life studio artist

Birds shun such trees, the doctor says to her, as grow from seeds nourished in soil where honor is despised. He has always considered himself a sort of poet anyway, and has often thought that science and poetry were kindred spirits dealing, as they do, with the actual and the mysteries of the actual.

Carol Emshwiller, Carmen Dog

Little poems, or when a laugh verges on the poetic. Heart-on-sleeve, jokes you tell that when retold don’t quite add up, had to be there. A song I’ve listened to over and over repeats You’re not alone, like a mantra and I dunno, these thoughts, being-with others and the kind of magic of what comes of sincere time – that between stuff between poetry and science, love and politics, neither one nor the other.

We think these works nestle in there, in their way.

Jackie Im is a curator, writer, and editor based in Oakland, CA. She currently serves at the Associate Curator of the San Francisco Arts Commission Galleries. She is also the co-founder and Director of Et al. and Et al., etc. in San Francisco. Im has organized exhibitions at the Wattis Institute of Contemporary Art (SF), Queens Nails (SF), The Lab (SF), Important Projects (Oakland), Holiday Forever (Jackson Hole, WY), and SFAC Galleries. Her writing has appeared in Fillip Magazine, Art Practical, Curiously Direct, and various exhibition catalogues. She holds a BA in Art History from Mills College and an MA in Curatorial Practice from California College of the Arts.

Aaron Harbour was born in San Antonio, Texas. He does a few too many things. He is a curator, writer, DJ, and author operating out of Oakland, CA. He is co-director of Et al. and Et al. etc., a gallery program with two locations in San Francisco. He runs Journal.fyi, an art blog. He has written for SFMOMA’s Open Space, Fillip Magazine, Decoy Magazine, and several small publications/artist catalogues. He has authored several books on subjects ranging from ghosts to artificial intelligence. His ongoing music podcast series is called Timber. He received some modicum of education at the San Francisco Art Institute.

Et al. is a gallery founded in 2013 directed by Jackie Im, Aaron Harbour, and Kevin Krueger. The gallery serves as a site for exhibitions and experimental events, working with its select roster as well as other local and international artists, writers, and curators.