Luis Estrada

A painting on white paper in four colors - yellow, red, indigo and grey. Yellow and red form thick half arches on the left side of the paper. Indigo forms a cloud in the middle and top right corner. Grey is a mass in the mid to lower right. Brushstrokes visible in all the forms.

NIAD Online Exhibition // “Murmuration” selected by Alisa Golden

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About the exhibition A murmuration is a flock of thousands moving together, a pattern through the sky, each bird attuned to its nearest neighbors. Made up of individual parts, the whole becomes greater and more powerful than when it stands alone. In the works presented here, individual parts are visible: pieced, gridded, grouped, and arranged with lines, letters, and fields of color. And from the thousands of works that fly together at NIAD, here is only a sample of pieces that somehow talk and listen to their nearest neighbors. A murmuration of applause to all. About the selector Alisa Golden writes, Read More …

A graphic of a collection of artworks included in the holiday gift guide. arranged in a grid.

NIAD Holiday Gift Guide #4: “SISTER SISTER” collected by Amanda and Sarah Eicher

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About “SISTER SISTER” Some people think we look alike; others think our voices sound the same, and still others mistake us for each other – but do we have the same taste?  We definitely swapped clothes, jewelry, sneakers, and a few items we argued over as tiny pups in the world.In this selection, I tried to choose for my sister a few of the things I think she might have borrowed from my childhood bedroom – or that I’d want to borrow from hers. (Unsurprisingly, we chose a few of the same items the first time around!) As the younger sibling, I Read More …

An ink drawing of floating hearts surrounded by smaller hearts, large floating flowers with hearts on the petals, flowers surrounded by flowers, all shapes filled with thin washes of color, blotched here and there. Some are colored with pencil. The colors are varied and bright. The artist's signature is in the bottom right corner.

Online Exhibition: “A Firmament in the Midst of the Waters” organized by Jay Youngdahl

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About the exhibition   Viewers can learn much from the work of NIAD artists. Their work offers the viewer a recognition that life is often a jumble of color and form.  Things arise, and often not in a linear or scientific manner. In reviewing the NIAD catalog, a religious/spiritual theme emerges.  Based on the conception of the beginning of the world found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, out of a chaos a world is born. Let there be light. About the organizer Jay Youngdahl is an artist, writer, and activist. For the past few decades he has made his Read More …

A screenprint portrait by NIAD studio artist Raven Harper in red ink of a female figure from the shoulders up. The words at the bottom of the print read "Rosa Parks".

Online Exhibition: “Super Powers” organized by Aubrey Ingmar Manson

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About the exhibition   As artists, we all have super powers. We can say what we feel and build worlds out of nothing. We can demand change and speak out about injustices. We can protest for our rights, freedoms, and share with others our views. It is the outside world viewed through the artist’s lens. Our powers are both inside and outside of us. Who among us will stand up for what they believe in? Who among us will help out? Who among us has a vision? Who among us desires change and progress? And who among us will do Read More …

A black ink drawing, smudged in some areas, with three crowded rows of bees filling the bottom half and three rough rows of winged figures in the top half, jostling each other for space.

Online Exhibition: Ravel, organized by Danny Volk

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About the exhibition   Ravel is an exhibition of two and three dimensional work that attracts with loose references leaving the mind to give up meaning in the pursuit of possibility. Recommended listening to accompany the viewing of the exhibition: Maurice Ravel’s Boléro. About the organizer Danny Volk received a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Art from the University of Chicago (Chicago, IL) and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater Studies from Kent State University (Kent, OH). His recent exhibitions, screenings and performances include Mrs. Lincoln, What Did You Think of the Play at Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (Milwaukee, WI), The News Gallery at SPACES (Cleveland, OH), The Read More …

A linocut print with a slightly rough right edge. the ink is fire-engine red with very lightly speckled patches of white paper showing through here and there. in the upper center of the page, the word YIELD in handdrawn letters is tightly enclosed by an upside-down triangle, with is in turn enclosed by another upside down triangle, with a third triangle tight around the second. The borders of the two outer triangles blend together here and there.

Online Exhibition: Yielding, organized by Ann Marguerite Tartsinis

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About the exhibition   To yield is to submit to pressure, to give way to an external force. It is also to produce or create something, the yield, from one’s own labor. The artworks brought together in this exhibition reflect the multiple ways matter can yield: Clay is molded and punctured by the sharp tip of the stylus, fabric gathers at the pull of the embroidery thread, and brushstrokes accumulate to reveal an overflowing mass of delineated forms on the page. While some of the artworks here physically represent how yielding is embedded in the very processes of their making, others Read More …

James Heartsill Untitled (P0639)

Online Exhibition: Diverse Findings, selected by Paulette Nichols

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About the exhibition Here is a picture by James Heartsill of what looks to be a house, except it has teeth, and there is a sky and trees and the roof looks like it has a hair cut, and a tongue is coming out like a door mat. Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart wrote a song called My Head is My Only House Unless it Rains, and that’s what this mixed media on canvas piece makes me think of. We walk around in our heads that protect us like little houses. We inhabit our bodies. They are our homes, and we may own Read More …

Untitled (D3643) Luis Estrada

Online Exhibition: MIND MAPPING, selected by Minoosh Zomorodinia

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About the exhibition I’m interested in recording time and space, so I selected works that visualize and explore everyday thinking.   Why tracking TIME?How is the WEATHER?What do you think of EVERYDAY?How much is a new CAR? About the selector Minoosh Zomorodinia is an Iranian-born interdisciplinary artist who makes visible the emotional and psychological reflections of her mind’s eye inspired by nature. She employs walking as a catalyst to reference the power of technology as a colonial structure while negotiating boundaries of lands.

NIAD artists in our courtyard working on sketches for SFMOMA's Mini Mural Festival. Top row: Luis Estrada, Esmeralda Silva, Miguel Chacon. Circle: Jonathan Valdivias. Bottom row: Julio Del Rio, Deatra Colbert, Christian Vassell's sketches.

Online Event: SFMOMA Mini Mural Festival Kickoff – June 24

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NIAD is one of three organizations commissioned by SFMOMA to contribute murals to its Mini Mural Festival this summer. During this special online kickoff event, Acción Latina, NIAD, and SOMA Pilipinas will discuss our organizations’ work and missions. Then, the artists will reveal their mural designs for the first time. Don’t miss this special preview! SFMOMA Mini Mural Festival Kickoff (online)Thursday, June 24th, 5:30 PM PTRSVP today! Image: NIAD artists in our courtyard working on sketches for SFMOMA’s Mini Mural Festival. Top row: Luis Estrada, Esmeralda Silva, Miguel Chacon. Circle: Jonathan Valdivias. Bottom row: Julio Del Rio, Deatra Colbert, Christian Vassell’s sketches.

Untitled (D8628), Saul Alegria.

Online Exhibition: Perfect Memory, selected by Justin Clifford Rhody

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About the exhibition “Our relationship with reality and life is that same relationship that exists between the satellite image and the actual earth.”  – Luigi Ghirri   “Our engagement with the picture, our questioning of it, shapes and defines the ways we draw meanings from it. Pictures tell stories only to the extent that we ask them to; and as our questions change, those stories do as well.”   – Martha A. Sandweiss About the selector Justin Clifford Rhody is an artist working in photography, filmmaking and sound. He currently lives in New Mexico with his partner and frequent collaborator Abigail Read More …

Untitled (D3615), Eddie Braught.

Online Exhibition: Group Chat, selected by Kate Rhoades & Katy Kondo

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About the exhibition Since we’re curating this show as a duo, we were drawn to work that deals with collaboration and togetherness. In the last year as we’ve been isolated from our larger communities, we have also been deeply entangled with the few people in our bubble. In this exhibition we present works that were produced through collaboration with those long gone, like Karen May’s Untitled which responds to Man Ray’s Larmes (Tears). We also included works considering groups, like the stoic duck couple in Danny Thach’s Untitled. With our social spheres out of whack, these artists have given us new ways to think about being Read More …

Untitled (S0912) Samantha Kershnar

NIAD Windows Exhibition: Adornment, selected by Max Kauffman

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About the exhibition These ten artists imbue spirit into everyday objects. Facets of daily life become abstract through their methods; quilts, photographs, clay and paper become magical things through the power of repetition. The rituals of home and comfort are elevated through spiritual fulfillment. The love bestowed upon these items reveals itself. Not merely beauty, these things serve a purpose. They emanate joy, a sense of peace, and a hope of understanding one another. About the selector Max Kauffman   Meet the selector (virtually) at Thirsty Thursday, June 10, 6-7pm PT. View the exhibition.View Untitled (S0912), Samantha Kershnar.

Untitled (D9706), Karen May

Online Exhibition: Bookends, selected by Ellen Lake

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About the exhibition   Bookend (plural bookends) A heavy object or moveable support placed at one or both ends of a row of books for the purpose of keeping them upright. … one of two things occurring or located at either end of something else. For this exhibition the ceramic works of Ann Meade and Saul Alegria are the supports holding together a shelf full of treasures by NIAD artists.   About the selector Ellen Lake is an interdisciplinary artist living in Oakland, California. Her work experiments with technology, explores archives and collections, returns time and again to painting and process, and ranges Read More …

Untitled (D0443) Yuka Kobayashi

Online exhibition: Warming, selected by Good Buy Supply

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About the exhibition Warming A selection of works that embrace imperfect elements and subtle beauty found in nature. We can envision the artists admiring the natural world and what they love about it. Each work is met with a delicate thoughtful touch that can transcend beyond the page. The same mindset can be found in making sustainable choices that better people and the planet.  About the selector Good Buy Supply is Philadelphia’s first retail store dedicated to plastic-free alternatives for everyday life. Located in the grand, independent business community of East Passyunk Avenue, Good Buy Supply boasts a large selection Read More …