Exhibition celebrates deaf artists during awareness month

In celebration of National Deaf Awareness Month, The Studio Door presents Artistry Through Deaf Eyes, a significant exhibition acknowledging the diverse and talented works of deaf and hard of hearing artists.

In collaboration with local visual artist Jon Savage, who used the hashtag #deafartist to gather fellow creatives, the exhibition features the works of 18 artists from around the United States, including California, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Washington state, and Washington DC.

Savage stated, “This is an important moment for San Diego’s community to celebrate Deaf Art. My fellow artists offer a unique point of view and this exhibition celebrates the rich artistic traditions of Deaf contemporary artists.”

Included especially for deaf patrons are QR Codes that will be displayed beside artworks, which will open YouTube videos that include either ASL + Closed Captions (CC) or ASL + Voice-over on the videos enabling spectators to learn about the works from the artists.

Three must-see works that have been awarded Best in Show include:

Nancy Rourke

Subaltern Resistance Discussion

Rourke states of her work, “I grew up in San Diego and went to a deaf oral school. I was not ready to come out of the nutshell to expose my art in the hearing world. I use primary colors. Red is empowerment. Yellow is HOPE. Blue is oppression.”

Lynne Bowden

Hidden Master

Bowden speaks of her sudden experience with deafness and her journey of loss saying, “This piece was created after an illness suddenly destroyed my hearing. The shredded painting denotes the mixture of emotion I experienced from that loss. The reconstruction of van Gogh reflects the rebuilding of my life, piece by piece. My life may not look the same as it once had; however we all have the power to ‘reconstruct’ it into a richer, more meaningful one.”

Bridget Klein

Rise

Klein talks about the merger of photography and sign language, “I am a doctoral student at American University where I explored the idea of literature of American Sign Language (ASL) combined with film technology. My current work explores the idea of ASL within photography.”

The exhibition will be open for free to all San Diegans and runs through Sept. 24. All artwork is for sale. Follow along with the gallery and find more about upcoming exhibitions on Facebook at facebook.com/thestudiodoor.

The Studio Door: 3750 30th St., North Park, 619.255.4920, thestudiodoor.com