C4W:2020 Lush Future

Gamut Gallery’s annual Call-4-Work exhibition is not a show that influences what art should be. Instead, the chosen guest curator brings their unique perspective and interpretation of the submitted works ranging the full “Gamut” of visual media. When Katie Garrett accepted the challenge of curating this year’s C4W: 2020, she practiced an exercise in responsive curation, empowering the 175 artists to lead the way through all 745 submissions.

On par for C4W, the 2020 submissions were a wild slice of the local art scene. A cross section of who saw the call, and who felt compelled to contribute. It was especially heartening to discover a collection of submissions from artists novel to the gallery. As a step toward more balanced representation, Gamut Gallery waived all submission fees for Black Artists and Artists of Color. This is a practice that we will continue with progressing into the future, opening the door to artists that may not have had the accessibility in previous years.

A theme emerged around ideas of projection, optimism, truth, and action – creating a wild, saturated world that breathes life into us from every angle. Revealed in a body of work by 42 artists, these elements convey a hopeful and restorative life ahead. Biological elements invite inspiration of growth through texture, material, pattern, and figure. This rich, fertile ground features jewel tones pulling everything together, welcoming wet, magnetic pieces to pull at the imagination and occupy your whole mind. These chosen 43 works tell you stories and let everything else slip away for a moment, releasing judgement allowing the art do the work.