Livia Stein: Silent Conversation

Livia Stein
Silent Conversation

June 27 – August 10, 2024

Opening Reception
Saturday, June 29, 1-4 pm
​
Artist’s Talk
​in conversation with Barbara Morris
Saturday, July 27, 2 pm

Transmission Gallery presents Silent Conversation, a solo exhibition of recent figurative paintings and ceramic works by Livia Stein.

Animals, masks and enigmatic figures serve as stand-ins for the self and other in Stein’s ongoing investigations into the intricate dance between identity and interaction. Fearless in her use of color, she pushes along the edges between frustration, fears, familiarity and affection, navigating the subtleties of unspoken communication and the nuanced complexities of human relationships in richly painted canvases ranging from large scale works such as Kong and Fay Ray, 72” x 72,” and The Bones, 55” x 55,” to a number of mid-size pieces, including Life and Death and Black Head, both 30” x 30”.

Punctuated with intense blacks and vibrant hues, these artworks are not mere visual spectacles; they unfold as meditations, evolving with each viewing like the evolving dynamics of personal connections, shifting and changing over time in elusive quiet ways. Meanwhile, her ceramic creations, characterized by whimsical yet poignant distortions, embody a spectrum of emotions akin to the characters inhabiting the paintings. Slumped over, brightly standing, quizzical, they echo themes and ideas explored on canvas.

All are welcome to stop in Saturday, June 29th between 1 and 4 pm to greet the artists during the Artist’s Reception for Silent Conversation and concurrent exhibition, Many Hands. Enjoy the light refreshments served on our lovely outdoor deck and check out the new work at Transmission Gallery.

Mark your calendar and please join us for the Artist’s Talk, Saturday, July 27th starting at 2pm as Stein discusses her work in conversation with artist and writer Barbara Morris. ​

Transmission Gallery presents Silent Conversation, a solo exhibition of figurative paintings and ceramic works by Livia Stein.
Animals, masks and mysterious characters act as stand-ins for the self and other in Stein’s ongoing investigations of the relationship between the two. With fearless use of color Stein pushes along the edge between frustration, fears, familiarity and affection in these nuanced and evocative works. Richly painted and expressive, they delve into the complexities of human interactions and the subtleties of unspoken communication. These pieces are not meant to be a quick read, rather one’s response shifts and changes over time, much as our personal relationships may shift and change in elusive quiet ways, not always immediately recognized perhaps but deeply felt, nevertheless.
Stein’s new ceramic works, also in the exhibition, boldly play off clown-like figures, reveling in playful/painful distortions. Slumped over, brightly standing, quizzical, they speak to various sensations and expressions of self.
All are welcome to join us for the Artist’s Reception Saturday, June 29, from 1-4 pm. Meet the artist and enjoy the light refreshments on our lovely outdoor deck.

Artist and Writer Barbara Morris will join Livia Stein for an in-depth conversation about the work at the Artist’s Talk on Saturday, July 27, starting at 2 pm.
Livia Stein was born in Dallas, Texas, and then raised in and around Los Angeles and Orange County. She studied History at UC Berkeley and pursued a master’s degree in South Asian Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She spent several months in India as a student and has continued to travel there during the past 20 years. Influenced to do photography by her father, a talented amateur photographer, she studied at Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles, though ultimately, she received her Master’s at San Francisco State University, Center for Interdisciplinary and Experimental Art, founded by Jock Reynolds, now the director of the Yale University Art Museum. Formerly a Professor of Art at Dominican University in San Rafael, Stein now lives in Oakland where she maintains a studio.

She received an NDEA Fellowship while studying Indian History and Art at the University of Pennsylvania, after which she was an Artist in Residence in Baroda, India. In 2007 she had a Residency at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, which included a Solo Exhibition of her Paintings. She was again in India for a Painting Residency just outside New Delhi, winter 2012. In November of 2015 she was a visiting artist at the American Academy in Rome and completed a Residency in Morocco in 2019. Her most recent residency was in Mexico in 2024.

Stein’s work has been exhibited in Europe, South America, India and throughout the United States, and is in the collection of the Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts, Oakland Museum of California, Dominican University, and University of Iowa Art Museum, to name a few.