“Gestures of Care”

There’s no singular experience of motherhood that supersedes all others, and in this new exhibition by artists Chantal Lesley and Ana Treviño, no one medium outnumbers the others. Described by hosting gallery ICOSA as an examination of maternity “not as a fixed identity but as an evolving set of actions, relationships, and responsibilities,” the artists approach the subject from different experiences as well as with differing tools. While Treviño – a mother herself – utilizes 3D scanning tech and textiles to physically embrace expecting mothers, Lesley explores through photography, collage, and fabric compositions the maternal instinct and how it appears in caregiving beyond parenthood. I cannot, of course, encompass these artists’ entire exhibition in one paragraph, so join them at the opening reception Friday night, Aug. 14, to see care’s many shapes in person. – James Scott