Liz Harvey, the lost ones (2018). Performer: Cherie Hill with science editor Lauren Muscatine (pictured far left) in conversation with participants about climate change and the healing power of plants. Photo credit: Karen Goldman
the lost ones: iterations and murmurs is an exhibition centered on the artworks, artifacts, and ephemera behind creating the lost ones, a multi-year performance project by Bay Area artist Liz Harvey. For the lost ones performance project, Harvey worked with a range of collaborators, including choreographers Mary Armentrout, Cherie Hill, and Megan Nicely, as well as, science editor Lauren Muscatine. The project featured myriad performers rotating through an embroidered performance garment on which participants were invited to stitch images of endangered plants in order to highlight overlooked species, untold feminist histories, and little-acknowledged art practices.
This exhibition can be found in the Mike & Alyce Parsons Reception.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Liz Harvey is a queer artist who makes textiles, collages, watercolor paintings, and performances in order to disorient viewers and envision speculative liberatory futures. She uses craft processes to shed light on historical erasures of queer history and plant stories. Recent work highlights embroidery, audience participation, and time travel as vehicles for exploring the impact of climate change with a focus on the exponential increase in the rate of plant extinctions. Harvey also generates imagery from discarded materials and textile surplus to create collages, banners, headdresses, and capes, including textiles “from the future.” In Harvey’s performance projects, she collaborates with choreographers and scientists, frequently bringing dancers engaging with objects to public gardens and urban spaces. Recently, her work has been shown at the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, Round Weather Gallery in Oakland, Terrain Biennial in Alameda, and Plan-d Gallery in Los Angeles. Her work has been featured in Feral Fabric Journal, 48hills, and the San Francisco Examiner. She has been an artist-in-residence at Montalvo Arts Center, the Bay Area Discovery Museum, the de Young Museum, the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, and Salesforce Park in San Francisco. Harvey’s work is in the permanent collection of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles and her studio is in Oakland.
About the Curator
Alisa is a passionate arts organizer driven by bringing people together through the power of exhibitions and public programming. Stemming from a museum education background, she’s a firm believer in activating spaces and creating hands-on programming geared toward inter-generational audiences. From highlighting local contemporary artists to preserving traditional folk art, she strives to curate immersive exhibitions that spark curiosity, conversation, and joy.
Alisa’s interest in textiles flourished while serving as a curator for the San Francisco School of Needlework & Design. In this role, she curated exhibitions featuring contemporary fiber artists, alongside exhibitions from the SFSNAD's historic collection. Prior to pursuing exhibitions, Alisa worked in museum education departments across the country, including the SFMoMA, the de Young, and the Smithsonian. During this time, she actively utilized the Visual Thinking Strategies method and Project Zero Thinking Routines to activate galleries and enrich museum experiences. In addition to her nonprofit work, Alisa directed Craig Krull Gallery in Santa Monica, California, where she worked closely with contemporary artists of all mediums across Los Angeles.
Alisa holds an MA in Art and Museum Studies from Georgetown University and graduated with a BA from the San Francisco State University History department. Alisa was born in Vitebsk, Belarus, and is a native speaker of Russian.
