CHAMBERS

[If you are interested in purchasing a work, please contact the gallery for more information.]

UPPER MARKET GALLERY is pleased to present CHAMBERS, a sculptural exhibit by San Francisco-based assemblage artist Marion Vail. In Chambers, Vail manipulates discarded Valentine’s Day mementos — chocolate boxes, cookie tins, keepsake containers — into devotional altars to examine the experience of love lost. Each altar mourns the loss of a relationship with a named individual, memorializing the lingering effects of platonic and romantic love. The work asks the question: What belongs in your heart after someone has left?

The word altar stems from the phrase ‘burning place’: these heart altars are places to ritualistically burn and cleanse memories of the living. In Chambers, the size of the heart corresponds to the persistence of the memory.

As the artist leaves San Francisco next month, Chambers also functions as an altar to the city. The shape is a nod to the Tony Bennett song ‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’, played at Giants’ games and represented in the heart sculptures around the city. By repurposing local heart objects, Vail commemorates the experience of living and loving in San Francisco.

Opening Reception: May 9, 6-9pm

Open Gallery Hours: May 10, 12-4pm and Sunday by request (contact: marionvailed@gmail.com)

Artist Website: www.marionvailed.com