Statement by Dorothy Santos In a world filled with cynicism and despair, a lover of love in the arts is a rarity. Contemporary art often veers away from love as a subject matter. If love does find its way into an artwork, there’s a strong sense of irony or flippant use of the word and idea. Yet, with the perfect combination of authenticity and playfulness, Carissa Potter showcases the nature of amorous human interactions in such an undeniably beguiling way. Introducing new works in this exhibition, Potter addresses the physical, emotional, psychological, and intellectual aspects of love and desire.

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Potter introduces new works looking at the physical and emotional facets of love. Marry Me on Market is performance based piece where the artist conducts impromptu commitment ceremonies on one of the most highly trafficked streets in San Francisco. The participation requires one to be fearless and unafraid. While art work, All You Left Me, a necklace made from a human kidney stone calls to mind the belief in fetishes and amulets.Even though the necklace is all that is left, it serves a purpose. A reminder, a souvenir of love and loss. It marks a forgotten or remembered time. You Tell Me What I Want to Hear, interprets the game of Telephone within the context of love and longing.

 

This piece serves as a playful look into how the our mind may perceive one thing but unable to trust what we actually hear. Finally, 5 Poems of Love and A Sonnet of Despair, by Pablo Nuerda serves as a metaphor to the way in which love may be understood. The longing to translate something enigmatic and realizing, through the translation, familiarity resides. Potter’s translations mimic the way love is felt, instantaneously and without regard to any concept of what is right or wrong but what is felt.