Artist Statement
I see my studio practice as a laboratory where I experiment with materials that have personal history and are significant to me because of their origins. The outcome is sculpture, or performance that is documented in video and photography. Inspiration for my work comes from the marvels of biological life both aesthetically and metaphorically: patterns of flowers, vines, and fungus; the magic and regeneration of underwater plants; the mesmerizing serpentine movement of snakes.
I have a natural affinity for textiles and they regularly show up in my work, particularly wool and more recently family lace. My mother was born on a Colorado sheep ranch, as was her mother. I grew up in a house full of weaving and craft projects with wool often spread throughout the house. My father managed a textile factory and was always tinkering with machines and building things in our garage. These legacies show up in my work through my explorations of the world through texture. Pinecones are another material I use – they go back to my suburban childhood when I collected them during summer vacations in the Sierra Nevada mountains. They act as symbols of the wildness and the unpredictability of the forest that I longed for. More recently, I’ve found satisfaction in foraging for materials in hardware stores, seeing the range of their potential, and subverting their intended use.
Adopting natural forms and interacting with materials that hold personal meaning are expressions of curiosity, reverence, and longing.
Education
2005 MFA, Mills College, Oakland, CA
1986 BA, Psychology, Smith College, Northampton, MA
Solo Exhibitions
2023 Into the Garden, Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA (two-person exhibition)
2019 Be the Snake, Winslow Garage, Los Angeles, CA (solo exhibition)
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 Forage | Gather, Fellows of Contemporary Art (FoCA), Los Angeles, CA
2023 Malmöfornia Dreamin', Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA
2023 At the Bottom of a Greasy Pyramid, U+2205, Amadora-Lisbon, PT
2023 The Fabric of Memory, Tufenkian Fine Arts, Glendale, CA
2023 Fever Dream Dream Fever, Los Angeles Mission College, Los Angeles, CA
2023 A Common Thread, Art Share L.A., Los Angeles, CA
2023 Felt: Fiber Transformed, Guilford Art Center, Guilford, CT
2023 Tieze, Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Pilosus nuces orbis, Quadrant, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
2022 Sixth Annual Anniversary Exhibition, Open Mind Art Space, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Small Works in Flux, Flux Art Space, Long Beach CA
2021 NOMAD, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
2021 Fifth Anniversary Exhibition, Open Mind Art Space, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Makers Anonymous, Blowing in the Wind, Los Angeles, CA
2020 Hobson's Choice, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA (online exhibition)
2020 Changing a Point of View, All She Makes (online platform)
2020 New Work, Parlor, Los Angeles, CA (three-person exhibition)
2019 Aesthetic Intensity, José Drudis-Biada Art Gallery, Mt. St. Mary's University, Los Angeles, CA
2019 Hard Mud, Soft Threads, The Loft, San Pedro, CA
2018 A Piece of Me, Laband Art Gallery, Loyola Marymount University, (curated by Yarn Bombing LA), Los Angeles, CA
2009 99-Cent Show, Los Angeles World Airport, Los Angeles, CA
2009 For Intended Use Only, d.e.n. contemporary, included performance, Los Angeles, CA (three-person exhibition)
2009 Ornament is a Crime, Gallery 1927, installation & performance, Los Angeles, CA
2008 Taste, Root Division, San Francisco, CA
2007 Art Parade, organized by Deitch Projects, New York, NY
2007 Handled With Care: Contemporary Ceramic Works, London Design Festival, London, UK (Catalogue)
2007 Intersection, A Public Art Installation Project. Funded by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs & the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Studio City, CA (Catalogue)
Curatorial Projects
2024 Alternative Monuments | Monumentos Alternativos, Durden and Ray, Los Angeles, CA & OJO MX ARTE, Mexico City, MX
2023 Forage | Gather, Fellows of Contemporary Art (FOCA), Los Angeles, CA
2022 Pilosus nuces orbis, Quadrant:New Voices, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA
Lectures & Workshops
2022 "Textile Slam" presentation for Textile Arts LA, June 22
2022 "Curatorial Talk" for Torrance Art Museum Advocates, February 11
2018 "Pecha Kucha" presentation during Mindful Materials Summit, Textile Arts LA, Los Angeles, CA, September 15
2015 “Felting & Natural Dyeing”, Lecture and Workshop, Machine Project, Los Angeles, CA, February 8
Awards & Residencies
2023 Curator's Lab Grant, Fellows of Contemporary Art (FOCA), Los Angeles, CA
2023 Residency, Ann Weber Artist Residency, Puerto Vallarta, MX
2021 Residency, Noce Fresca, Milis, Sardina, IT
2018 Fiber Reinterpreted Award, Surface Design Journal
2008 Residency & Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2004 Eklind Fellowship, Mills College, Oakland, CA
2002 Residency, Banff Centre for the Arts, Banff, Alberta, CN
Bibliography
"Meet Carolyn Mason", Bold Journeys, February 6, 2024
"Begin 2024 with Epic Art Exhibitions from 2023", Diversions LA, January 2024
"Stories & Insights with Carolyn Mason", Canvas Rebel, October 12, 2023
Exhibition Catalogue for Forage | Gather, Fellows of Contemporary Art, 2023
Exhibition Catalogue for At the Bottom of a Greasy Pyramid, U+2205, 2023
Exhibition Catalogue for The Fabric of Memory, Tufenkian Fine Arts, 2023
"Felt: Fiber Transformed", Fiber Art Now Magazine, Summer 2022. 44
Exhibition Catalogue for Quadrant: Pilosus nuces orbis, Torrance Art Museum, 2022
“Second Annual Zine”, Parlor Pages, 2020. 25-26
“Family Matters: Exhibition in Print”, Surface Design Journal, Winter 2018. 50-52
“Splash of Colour”, Elle Decoration, UK Edition, May 2008. 144
“Handled with Care: Contemporary Ceramic Works”, Exhibition Catalogue, Designboom, Milan, Italy, 2007. 84
Exhibition Catalogue for Intersection, A Public Art Installation Project. Funded by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs & the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, 2007. 17
“Top Picks,” San Francisco Bay Guardian, 2004