Fragments of Belonging
Dalit Fresco and Jan Blythe
July 9th through August 15th
Opening Reception
Saturday, July 11, 1-4 pm
Fragments of Belonging is an exhibit of the work of Dalit Fresco and Jan Blythe.
The artist share a similar journey of immigration, the experience of which is ingrained in the process as well as the imagery of their work.
Whether it’s personal items compiled into cultural forms or from memories carried across great distances, past or present.
Dalit’s paintings draw personal memories from both real and imagined occurrences, translating them into undeniable emotional views. Her investigations move from inward outward, and from the specific towards wholeness. There is a longing that is inherently seeking cover, shelter, and solid ground. Jan is unearthing similar longings by compiling, assembling, and weaving with both personal and found objects. These materials are seemingly mundane yet once that with her hands are given a new life, form and meaning.
The dialogue between the painted surfaces and the objects is synchronized in a shared language, rhythm, and symbols.
The Shelter, 48”x36”
Acrylic, oil pastels,Pencils on canvas
2026
Dalit Fresco
Growing up at the intersection of Asia, Europe and Africa, a place where varied layers of cultures and traditions, languages and signs, music and soundscapes - have all shaped Dalit’s outlook, offering a visual abundance of colors and designs.
Fragments of Belonging is a collection of recent pieces that are influenced by an emotional sensetivity to events of loss, as well as confidently reaching out for a dialogue between ways of seeing, with a constant reflection of memories and current state of observing and interacting.
“Dalit Fresco's works are highly animated in the way her sensitive choice of each part's qualities make us feel them coming together into a whole. They exemplify a way of cultivating beauty from the freedom of making something by hand. Each of her touches does something explicit, not suggestive; and I ponder how the results were both bold and quiet at the same time”
- Malcolm Ryder, Oakland Art Murmur, 2023
Dalit has shown in galleries around the Bay Area as well as in Madrid, Berlin and Tel Aviv.
KW2 18”x9”x6”
Wallpaper, twine, cardboard
2026
Born in Scotland, Jan was raised in Glasgow, a city with strong arts and cultural heritage. A painter, early on, she decided to train as a textile designer and received her BA in England before moving to California. After building a successful career as a surface designer, Jan returned to her first love, fine art. She holds her Masters of Fine Arts from the San Francisco Art Institute and has exhibited her work in both national and International venues including the Museum of Sonoma, CA and The Museum of Northern California Art. She has attended residencies in Cyprus, Greece, Key West, Fl and California. Blythe was awarded the John D. and Susan P. Diekman Fellowship in 2008 while attending the Djerassi Residency in Woodside, CA. and won a juror’s cash prize for her work from the Bedford Gallery Guild and Docent Councils in 2011.
Her recent works in the show encompass personal, found and natural materials, which are hand stitched together to form sculptures. Another work is a stack of cut, tartan wool fabrics, Jan has collected over the years. She includes a piece of sculpture made from strips of reclaimed swimming pool cover draped over a wooden form.
Jan Blythe
"East 5th Ave. Oakland" 30"x40" mixed media on canvas 2024
"The Load I" 21"x15" gouache and pencil on paper 2026
"A Real Place" 40"x30" mixed media on canvas 2026
"B8" 15"x11"x10" burlap, glue, acrylic, wax 2025
"KW3" !5"x10"x7" wallpaper, twine and cardboard 2026
"Strain" 40"x23"x15" wool, cotton 2008