SF/Arts Curator Insight

This show's title is a play on "surface tension," a property arising from strong internal molecular attraction that creates a resistant surface. The metaphor is not lost on the exhibition's mostly local LGBTQ+ artists, many of whom transform found materials (textiles, rope, rubber) to service artworks and installations that trouble intersectional borders within the self, the community, and beyond. Given the current political climate, it's easy to see the gallery itself as a bubble formed to resist outside pressures intent on disfiguring the purpose of such spaces. Inside, the artists' attraction builds shared strength, celebrating difference and exploring various forms of freedom found inside constraint.