ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork is a reflection of local human industry. I am a sculptor and installation artist working almost exclusively with manufactured materials- the leftovers, the by-products, the remnants of human activity. As I build with these materials, I deconstruct them or alter them in such a way that they are not immediately recognizable. The reconstruction is in some way determined by what the material is capable of doing, but not meant to do. The new physical form is always more organic, often mimicking the appearance of natural patterns, landscape, magnified cells, or mold. My material use serves as a commentary on the increasingly modified condition of humans, which pits nature against culture and blurs the line between organic and manufactured.
My current body of work consists of sculptures and works on paper made with resistors, capacitors, and diodes, the candy-colored components one finds on circuit boards. The sculptures consist of perforated abstract ceramic forms into which I insert the wire ends of the resistors. The works on paper reference textile, geometric, and organic patterns.
I am interested in the fact that these materials are ubiquitous in almost any electronic device and are intrinsic to the industry that thrives in Silicon Valley where I live. Intriguingly, these kinds of objects have their limitations in an industry that seeks to get smaller, sleeker, and faster; are they on an edge of technological extinction? In using these components I want to comment upon the slowness of my process in opposition to the immediacy, technological advancement, and “progress” that these materials are thought to provide. And because these elements quickly end up as e-waste, I also seek to illustrate a certain level of waste and intentional obsolescence that they can signify.
My artwork is a reflection of local human industry. I am a sculptor and installation artist working almost exclusively with manufactured materials- the leftovers, the by-products, the remnants of human activity. As I build with these materials, I deconstruct them or alter them in such a way that they are not immediately recognizable. The reconstruction is in some way determined by what the material is capable of doing, but not meant to do. The new physical form is always more organic, often mimicking the appearance of natural patterns, landscape, magnified cells, or mold. My material use serves as a commentary on the increasingly modified condition of humans, which pits nature against culture and blurs the line between organic and manufactured.
My current body of work consists of sculptures and works on paper made with resistors, capacitors, and diodes, the candy-colored components one finds on circuit boards. The sculptures consist of perforated abstract ceramic forms into which I insert the wire ends of the resistors. The works on paper reference textile, geometric, and organic patterns.
I am interested in the fact that these materials are ubiquitous in almost any electronic device and are intrinsic to the industry that thrives in Silicon Valley where I live. Intriguingly, these kinds of objects have their limitations in an industry that seeks to get smaller, sleeker, and faster; are they on an edge of technological extinction? In using these components I want to comment upon the slowness of my process in opposition to the immediacy, technological advancement, and “progress” that these materials are thought to provide. And because these elements quickly end up as e-waste, I also seek to illustrate a certain level of waste and intentional obsolescence that they can signify.
BIOGRAPHY
Mitra Fabian was born in Iran and raised in Boston. She received a BA in Art with an Anthropology minor from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. She located to Los Angeles in 1996 and began to show her work both locally and nationally. She returned to school in 2002 to receive an MFA from California State University, Northridge. As of May 2005, she lives and works in the Bay Area. Fabian has been showing her work nationally since 1997, and had a solo show at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in 2007. Her work has also been featured in shows the Museum of Contemporary Craft, the Laguna Art Museum, and the Armory Center for the Arts. She has also shown with prominent galleries in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the summer of 2009, she was an artist in residence at Bemis in Omaha, NE. Her work has been reviewed by several media organizations including Spark, KQED Television, Ruby Mag, an online Argentinean art magazine, Angeleno Magazine, and Artweek. She is a professor at West Valley College teaching sculpture and ceramics.
Mitra Fabian was born in Iran and raised in Boston. She received a BA in Art with an Anthropology minor from Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. She located to Los Angeles in 1996 and began to show her work both locally and nationally. She returned to school in 2002 to receive an MFA from California State University, Northridge. As of May 2005, she lives and works in the Bay Area. Fabian has been showing her work nationally since 1997, and had a solo show at the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art in 2007. Her work has also been featured in shows the Museum of Contemporary Craft, the Laguna Art Museum, and the Armory Center for the Arts. She has also shown with prominent galleries in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the summer of 2009, she was an artist in residence at Bemis in Omaha, NE. Her work has been reviewed by several media organizations including Spark, KQED Television, Ruby Mag, an online Argentinean art magazine, Angeleno Magazine, and Artweek. She is a professor at West Valley College teaching sculpture and ceramics.
RESUME
EDUCATION
1996 BA, Art & Anthropology, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2005 MFA, Art, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA
SOLO & PARTNER EXHIBITIONS
2019 Iterations, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 New Work, Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2017 Evolving Networks, Ampersand International Arts, San Francisco, CA
2017 Natural Conduct, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
2016 Unearthly Forms, Kaneko Gallery, American River College, Sacramento, CA
2015 New Work, Start-Up Art Fair, San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA
2014 On Site, Thacher Gallery, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
2013 Stratagems, Hinge Modern, Culver City, CA
2012 Concentric, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2008 Accumulations, Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2007 Propagation, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2007 Disproportionate Priorities, Bandini Art, Culver City, CA
2005 Room for Recovery, MFA Thesis Show, California State University, Northridge
2004 Surface Treatment, Gallery 825, Bergamot Annex, Santa Monica, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 The New Domestics, Delta College, Stockton, CA
2019 Once at Present, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
2018 The New Domestics: Finding Beauty in the Mundane, Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
2016 Post Waste, South Bay Contemporary, San Pedro, CA
2015 Botanica, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
2014 Group Show, Supernatural, San Francisco, CA
2013 Infinity + 1, Arena 1, Santa Monica, CA
2013 Perpetuation of Myth, Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA
2012 The Office, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 The Heart of the Future, Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2012 Redux, University of Mary Washington Galleries, Fredericksburg, VA
2011 Busywork, 2012 Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2011 H2O, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2011 Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
2010 Manufractured Forward, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
2010 Out of Order, Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
2010 Flatlanders III, Nelson Gallery, Davis, CA
2010 Summer in the City, JayJay, Sacramento, CA
2010 Groundswell, Kala, Oakland, CA
2009 Sweetness, Moorpark College Gallery, Moorpark, CA Auction 100, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
2008 Manufractured, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR
2008 East of the West, SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
2008 Pink Week Art Show, Tangent Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2008 Manmade, East Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
2007 Don’t Fence Me In, Bandini Art, Culver City, CA
2007 Group Show, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2006 Spring Installation, Phantom Galleries, San Jose, CA Materialism, Don Soker
2006 Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA Out of This World, Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 All California!, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Beyond Plastic, Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004 Open Show, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Rustic & Urbane, East Gallery, Claremont University, Claremont, CA
2004 Open Call LA, Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Northwest Territories, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2003 Petite Works, Gallery 825, Bergamot Annex, Santa Monica, CA On Site, Angel’s Gate Gallery, San Pedro, CA
2002 Showstoppers, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA
2001 National Juried Art Competition, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
2000 New Art Y2K, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA
1997 Celebrating the World Through Art, The Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA
1996 Places Between, Senior Thesis Show, Olin Gallery, Gambier, OH
RELATIVE EXPERIENCE
2012 Artist in Residence, Centre d’Art Marnay, Marnay sur Seince, France
2012 Artist in Residence for Printmaking, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 Portfolio Reviewer, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 Panelist, “Heart of the Future”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA
2009 Artist in Residence, Bemis Center for the Arts, Omaha, NE
2009 Guest Lecturer, San Francisco State University, sponsored by SFSU and KQED, San Francisco, CA Panelist, “Art as Political Commentary”, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2007 Panelist, “Residencies Within Reach”, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose
2005 Artist in Residence Coordinator, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA (through 2007)
2005 Guest Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
2005 Artist In Residence, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA
2003 Panelist, “Getting an MFA”, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA Guest Lecturer, El Camino College, Torrance, CA
2003 Installation Assistant for Su-Chen Hung, California State University, Northridge
2003 Installation Assistant for Tara Donovan, Ace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Studio Assistant for Alison Saar, Los Angeles, CA (through 2003)
REVIEWS
“New Domestics @ Monterey Museum of Art”, https://www.squarecylinder.com/2018/09/new-domestics-monterey-art-museum/
“Mitra Fabian” Art Scene, November 2013, http://www.visualartsource.com/index.php?page=editorial&com=media&pcID=36&aID=1961
“Mitra Fabian: Concentric”, San Francisco Chronicle, April 2012 http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Bay-Area-arts-picks-April-12-3475712.php
Buried in Paperwork”, Sacramento Bee, April, 2011 Square Cylinder, “Sac City College 4 @ JayJay”, 2010 http://www.squarecylinder.com/2010/07/sac-city-college-4-jayjay/
Sacramento Bee, “New Sacramento City College art faculty showcased in exhibit”, July, 2010
I Love Sticky Tape, “Mitra Fabian Tape Art” 2009 http://ilovestickytape.blogspot.com/2010/02/mitra-fabian-tape-art.html
Up Like Toast, “Mitra Fabian: Bemis artist spotlight” 2009 http://upliketoast.blogspot.com/2009/07/mitra-fabian-bemis-artist-spotlight.html
Ruby Mag, online art magazine, Argentina, Issue #31, 2008
My Love for you is a Stampede of Horses, art blog, US, June, 2008 http://myloveforyou.typepad.com/my_love_for_you/2008/06/mitra-fabian.html
“Nextnew and Mitra Fabian”, Artweek, November 2007
“Materials Girl”, San Jose Metro, September 2007 “Propagation”, www.shotgunreview.com, September 2007 http://www.artpractical.com/review/propagation/
Spark, KQED Television, filmed artist profile, episode# 515, July 2007
https://ww2.kqed.org/spark/mitra-fabian/
“Art in Review: Special Effects”, www.sharonmizota.com, April 2007
“It’s Sprouting Hair!”, Angeleno, March 2007
“Student art explores natural and artificial surroundings”, Daily Sundial, April 2005 “Continuing & Recommended Exhibitions”, Art Scene, May 2004
1996 BA, Art & Anthropology, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2005 MFA, Art, California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA
SOLO & PARTNER EXHIBITIONS
2019 Iterations, George Billis Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2019 New Work, Gund Gallery, Kenyon College, Gambier, OH
2017 Evolving Networks, Ampersand International Arts, San Francisco, CA
2017 Natural Conduct, Chandra Cerrito Contemporary, Oakland, CA
2016 Unearthly Forms, Kaneko Gallery, American River College, Sacramento, CA
2015 New Work, Start-Up Art Fair, San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA
2014 On Site, Thacher Gallery, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
2013 Stratagems, Hinge Modern, Culver City, CA
2012 Concentric, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2008 Accumulations, Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2007 Propagation, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2007 Disproportionate Priorities, Bandini Art, Culver City, CA
2005 Room for Recovery, MFA Thesis Show, California State University, Northridge
2004 Surface Treatment, Gallery 825, Bergamot Annex, Santa Monica, CA
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 The New Domestics, Delta College, Stockton, CA
2019 Once at Present, Minnesota Street Project, San Francisco, CA
2018 The New Domestics: Finding Beauty in the Mundane, Monterey Museum of Art, Monterey, CA
2016 Post Waste, South Bay Contemporary, San Pedro, CA
2015 Botanica, Bedford Gallery, Walnut Creek, CA
2014 Group Show, Supernatural, San Francisco, CA
2013 Infinity + 1, Arena 1, Santa Monica, CA
2013 Perpetuation of Myth, Art Museum of Los Gatos, Los Gatos, CA
2012 The Office, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 The Heart of the Future, Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2012 Redux, University of Mary Washington Galleries, Fredericksburg, VA
2011 Busywork, 2012 Kondos Gallery, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2011 H2O, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2011 Chain Letter, Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Bergamot Station, Santa Monica, CA
2010 Manufractured Forward, Oliver Art Center, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
2010 Out of Order, Fine Arts Gallery, San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA
2010 Flatlanders III, Nelson Gallery, Davis, CA
2010 Summer in the City, JayJay, Sacramento, CA
2010 Groundswell, Kala, Oakland, CA
2009 Sweetness, Moorpark College Gallery, Moorpark, CA Auction 100, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA
2008 Manufractured, Museum of Contemporary Craft, Portland, OR
2008 East of the West, SomArts Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
2008 Pink Week Art Show, Tangent Gallery, Sacramento, CA
2008 Manmade, East Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA
2007 Don’t Fence Me In, Bandini Art, Culver City, CA
2007 Group Show, Don Soker Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA
2006 Spring Installation, Phantom Galleries, San Jose, CA Materialism, Don Soker
2006 Contemporary Art, San Francisco, CA Out of This World, Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2005 All California!, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Beyond Plastic, Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2004 Open Show, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Rustic & Urbane, East Gallery, Claremont University, Claremont, CA
2004 Open Call LA, Barnsdall Municipal Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Northwest Territories, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
2003 Petite Works, Gallery 825, Bergamot Annex, Santa Monica, CA On Site, Angel’s Gate Gallery, San Pedro, CA
2002 Showstoppers, Long Beach Arts, Long Beach, CA
2001 National Juried Art Competition, Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA
2000 New Art Y2K, Kingston Gallery, Boston, MA
1997 Celebrating the World Through Art, The Somerville Museum, Somerville, MA
1996 Places Between, Senior Thesis Show, Olin Gallery, Gambier, OH
RELATIVE EXPERIENCE
2012 Artist in Residence, Centre d’Art Marnay, Marnay sur Seince, France
2012 Artist in Residence for Printmaking, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 Portfolio Reviewer, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012 Panelist, “Heart of the Future”, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento CA
2009 Artist in Residence, Bemis Center for the Arts, Omaha, NE
2009 Guest Lecturer, San Francisco State University, sponsored by SFSU and KQED, San Francisco, CA Panelist, “Art as Political Commentary”, Sacramento City College, Sacramento, CA
2007 Panelist, “Residencies Within Reach”, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose
2005 Artist in Residence Coordinator, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA (through 2007)
2005 Guest Lecturer, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, CA
2005 Artist In Residence, Works/San Jose, San Jose, CA
2003 Panelist, “Getting an MFA”, Gallery 825, Los Angeles, CA Guest Lecturer, El Camino College, Torrance, CA
2003 Installation Assistant for Su-Chen Hung, California State University, Northridge
2003 Installation Assistant for Tara Donovan, Ace Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1998 Studio Assistant for Alison Saar, Los Angeles, CA (through 2003)
REVIEWS
“New Domestics @ Monterey Museum of Art”, https://www.squarecylinder.com/2018/09/new-domestics-monterey-art-museum/
“Mitra Fabian” Art Scene, November 2013, http://www.visualartsource.com/index.php?page=editorial&com=media&pcID=36&aID=1961
“Mitra Fabian: Concentric”, San Francisco Chronicle, April 2012 http://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Bay-Area-arts-picks-April-12-3475712.php
Buried in Paperwork”, Sacramento Bee, April, 2011 Square Cylinder, “Sac City College 4 @ JayJay”, 2010 http://www.squarecylinder.com/2010/07/sac-city-college-4-jayjay/
Sacramento Bee, “New Sacramento City College art faculty showcased in exhibit”, July, 2010
I Love Sticky Tape, “Mitra Fabian Tape Art” 2009 http://ilovestickytape.blogspot.com/2010/02/mitra-fabian-tape-art.html
Up Like Toast, “Mitra Fabian: Bemis artist spotlight” 2009 http://upliketoast.blogspot.com/2009/07/mitra-fabian-bemis-artist-spotlight.html
Ruby Mag, online art magazine, Argentina, Issue #31, 2008
My Love for you is a Stampede of Horses, art blog, US, June, 2008 http://myloveforyou.typepad.com/my_love_for_you/2008/06/mitra-fabian.html
“Nextnew and Mitra Fabian”, Artweek, November 2007
“Materials Girl”, San Jose Metro, September 2007 “Propagation”, www.shotgunreview.com, September 2007 http://www.artpractical.com/review/propagation/
Spark, KQED Television, filmed artist profile, episode# 515, July 2007
https://ww2.kqed.org/spark/mitra-fabian/
“Art in Review: Special Effects”, www.sharonmizota.com, April 2007
“It’s Sprouting Hair!”, Angeleno, March 2007
“Student art explores natural and artificial surroundings”, Daily Sundial, April 2005 “Continuing & Recommended Exhibitions”, Art Scene, May 2004