pt.2 Gallery kicks off the new year with two new shows opening at their Oakland space on January 11, 2020. The gallery's January group show, Talk Like Strangers brings together four artists from across the globe that expands the scope of the gallery's roster. Daisy Parris, based in London; Jesse Littlefield, based in Portland, Maine; Nico Stone, based in New York; and Sebastian Helling, based in Oslo, Norway. Meanwhile, Saif Senussi Azzuz, who views "land as a marker for culture and cultural tradition; oral history, what we pass down, the transference of time and space," presents his latest solo show wes'onah.

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Jesse Littlefield

Although the geographic distance between each artist is vast, their works together in a gallery space invites the viewer to take part in an obviously intimate conversation about color, line, texture, and form. In each, the viewer almost recognizes a familiar shape or idea, yet the exact definition eludes us. For one artist, distilling personal experiences out of the universal helps to navigate her own anxieties. Meanwhile, another artist plays with familiar shapes, waiting for the surprise of an unexpected outcome. Whatever diverse personal intention each artist displays, the viewer experiences both the works' particulars and universals in a way that is distinctly human.

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Saif Sennusi Azzuz

In Saif Senussi Azzuz's solo show, the artist uses stories by, of and for family members to construct colorful canvases imbued with washy luminosity and the gentle disquiet of dreams. "The stories I am drawn to remind me of home... or the feeling of home. Of places I have or have not experienced for myself. Places that were political simply by existing. These places have helped me to document my family and myself." Through self-defined symbolism communicating the ideas of movement, energy and time, Azzuz acknowledges and validates generational trauma, resilience, land, and story.

Saif Senussi Azzuz's wes'onah opens at pt. 2's Oakland location this Saturday, January 11, 2020, with an opening reception from 12 to 10 pm and an artist talk at 4 pm, and is on view through February 7, 2020.
The January Group Show
Talk Like Strangers is also on view from January 11, 2020, through February 7, 2020.