Waterlines

In California we often think and talk about water. Both in its abundance and scarcity, this essential natural resource is part of our collective consciousness. Our concern for water manifests in our technological innovations, our public policy and our creativity. Even the name of our region, Bay Area, expresses our geographic connection to water and informs our community identity. Waterlines is an art exhibition about our vast relationship with this element.

Through the art of sixteen artists working in diverse media, Waterlines presents unique interpretations of meaning and relationship with water. You will notice that the exhibition is organized along the flow of the water cycle, the eternal process that moves and transforms water around our planet. The works within call to mind our own experiences with water in all of its forms, while contemplating environmental concerns, spiritual meanings, travel and trade, and our human and historical impact.

Finite in earthly quantity, water is essential for our survival, and can be found in, or has been used to make just about everything. It quenches our thirst, grows our food and cleanses us; water is also source of pleasure. Water can be a contentious commodity, as well as something that is difficult to control. In all its shape shifting forms, from the powerful deluge of hurricanes, to the tranquility of deep shimmering pools, this exhibition explores the infinite, poetic possibilities of water as symbol and substance.