Vanessa Woods

Lacuna

About the Show

Lacuna is Woods’ first exhibition in the gallery to feature 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional works including photographs, collages, casts, and plaster sculptures that interrogate the malleability of motherhood. In lacuna, Woods shows a body turned inside out and remade through her children’s bodies while also probing the gaps and conflicts of maternal experience.

“The range of visual strategies used in lacuna is meant to generate spaces of vertigo, confusion, ambivalence, and reorientation,” says Woods of the exhibition. “I want the work to speak to the extraordinary fact that the maternal body and mind are physically and biologically remade through the process of becoming a mother. I also want to explore the conflicts that live within maternal experience; the need to simultaneously hold on to and let go of my children, to extend my body to them and reclaim it for myself. Fracture and repair are recurring motifs in the show. Like kintsugi—the Japanese art of mending broken pottery and leaving the crack visible—I feel that the fracture of self that occurs in motherhood allows us to be remade stronger and more beautiful.”

The work in lacuna is highly iterative and shows evidence of being made and remade. Like motherhood itself, the work is continually remixed and rebuilt. Bodies are multiplied and erased through extensive layering, fragmentation, and re-photography. Figures and forms combine, break, grow, shrink, and reassemble. Blank plaster fragments, used as sculptural elements throughout the exhibition, function as lacunae—unfilled gaps or intervals—that become the unwritten spaces in which the mother’s identity can be rewritten. Woods’ hybrid approach to image-making in lacuna illuminates the pliancy of maternal experience, showcasing how maternal perspective can expand the discourse around identity and gender in contemporary art.

VESTIGES

The Art of the Fragment by Dewitt Cheng, 2020
Vestiges Virtual Fly-Over
Vestiges Interview By Allie Haeusslein, August 15, 2020

SOMEWHERE BETWEEN HERE AND THERE

PRESS
Visual Art Source
Lenscratch
Nara Collective
Square Cylinder

ECHO POEMS

Biography

Artist Statement

Vanessa Woods (b. 1979, San Diego, CA) is a San Francisco Bay Area-based artist working in photography, 16mm film, collage, and sculpture. Her work uses a range of visual strategies and a hybrid approach to image-making to explore discourse around identity, motherhood, and gender in contemporary art. Since graduating with an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute, her artwork and films have been exhibited throughout the United States including Stanford Art Spaces at Stanford University, The Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and The Institute of Contemporary Art in San Jose. Woods has received numerous awards including a Center for Photographic Art Artist Support Grant, a Film Arts Foundation Grant, and the San Francisco Art Institute's MFA Fellowship. She has also been awarded residencies at Djerassi, the Headlands Center for the Arts, the MacDowell Colony, and in Pont-Aven, France, through the Museum of Pont-Aven. Her work has been published in The New York Times and Harpers, among others. Woods lives in Pacifica, CA with artist Josh Smith and their three children.

www.vanessawoods.com

Solo and 2-Person Exhibitions

2025
- M/Other, (Working Title), Filter Space, Chicago, IL
2024
- Lacuna, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
  The Meaning of Gravity, Anglim Trimble Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2022
- Each One of Us was Fastened to the Other, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
2020
- Vestiges, Vanessa Woods and Josh Smith
  Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018
- Somewhere Between Here and There, Collages by Vanessa Woods
  Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2017
- Echo Poems, Collages by Catie O’Leary and Vanessa Woods
  Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2016
- Emic/Etic: Collage by Vanessa Woods
  a.Muse Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2013
- The Back of Beyond: Works by Vanessa Woods
  Pool Art Center Gallery, Drury University, Springfield, MO
2011
- Mythologies, Galley Visio
  University of Missouri—Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO
2009
- USA Meets Regensburg: Films, Photography and Live Music
  Kino Akademiesalon, Regensburg, Germany
2004
- The Altered Lens: Photographic Works
  Lerner Gallery, Columbia University, New York, NY

Group Exhibitions

2024
- Forecast, SF Camerawork, San Francisco, CA
- Folds, ARTspace, New York, NY
- Invisible Labor, 120710 Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2023
- Pyramid Scheme, Bass and Reiner Gallery, SF, CA
2022
- Un/Familiar, Book and Job Gallery, SF, CA
- The Works, Round Weather Gallery, Oakland, CA
- Did you Make This, How Long Did it Take, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2021
- Creative Reverence, Round Weather Gallery, Oakland, CA
2020
- Bay Area Visual Artist Production Relief Grant Exhibition, Ever Gold Projects and The Internet Archive, San Francisco, CA
- Slumber with A Key, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Ineligible
  Museu Internacional Escultura Contemporanea, Santo Tirso, Portugal
2019
- Hot Love/Cold Facts
  Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley, CA
- Elemental Construction
  Colorado Photographic Arts Center, Denver, CO
2018
- Light and Metal: Unique Photographs and Objects
  Photo Eye Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
- Paper Cuts: Large Scale Collage
  Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
- Works on Paper Revisited Lehr Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany
- No Rhyme or Reason Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Face Forward, Image and Self Worth Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA
2017
- Alt Left, Local Treasures
  Berkeley Art Center, Berkeley CA
- Marvelous
  An International Exhibition of Collage, Sebastopol, CA
2016
- Metamorphic: Collage in the Dada/Surrealist Tradition
  Stanford Art Spaces, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA
- Hybrid Collage Show
  Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
- Connect and Collect
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2015
- Collagistas
  Taabya Art Space, Thessalonki, Greece
- Hybrid Collage Show
  a.Muse gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Connect and Collect
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2013
- Connect and Collect
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2012
- ZERO1 Biennial
  San Jose CA
- 50-50 IV
  Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
- Axis Gallery 7th Annual Juried Exhibition
  Axis Gallery, Sacramento, CA (Juror, Aspara DiQuinzio, SF MOMA, San Francisco)
- 4 x 4: Four Months/Four Video Artists
  The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
- Nightlight
  Somarts, San Francisco, CA
- Connect and Collect
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2011 Dreams
- The Center for Fine Art Photography
  Fort Collins, CO
- 50-50 III
  Sanchez Art Center, Pacifica, CA
- Mix It Up Media
  Santa Cruz Art League, Santa Cruz, CA
- The Altered Book Show
  Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Marin, CA
2010
- Glimpses in Time, 2010
  Joyce Gordon Gallery, Oakland, CA, Creativity Award
- The Lens Based Image
  Desotorow Gallery, Savannah, GA
- Taste: A Garden of Earthy Delights
  Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Intersection
  21 Grand Artists Gallery, Oakland, CA
- Photowork 10
  Barrett Art Center, Poughkeepsie, NY (Juror Nat Trotman, Guggenhiem Museum of Art, NY)
2009
- The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art Annual Fall Art Exhibition and Auction
  San Jose, CA
2009
- The Annual Monotype Marathon Print Exhibition
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
- Hypnagogia
  Anon Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2008
- Small Works Will
  Small Works Well, Barnard College, New York, NY
- Vital Signs
  Newcomb Art Gallery, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA
- The San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art Annual Fall Art Exhibition and Auction
  San Jose, CA
- Headlands Graduate Fellow Exhibition
  Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
- The Annual Monotype Marathon Print Exhibition
  San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose, CA
2007
- Introductions
  Root Division Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Wunderkammer
  Johansson Projects, Oakland, CA
- Vernissage: MFA Graduate Exhibition
  Herbst Pavilion at Fort Mason Center, San Francisco, CA
- Parables of Isolation: Rubric Experimental Video Exhibition
  Plus Gallery, Denver, CO
- SFAI Now
  Red Ink Studios, San Francisco, CA
2006
- The Moving Picture Show
  Swell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Immediate Future, Murphy and Codogan Fellowship Award Show
  San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery, San Francisco, CA.
- Big Deal
  Soma Arts Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Convergence
  Tollhouse Art Center, Kirkcudbright, Scotland
- Upgrade: Photographic Works, Paintings and Films
  Swell Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- Obsession
  Centre International d'Art Contemporain, Pont-Aven, France
2005
- Distillations
  Institut Franco-Americain, Rennes, France
2004
- Cultural Salvage
  Centre International d'Art Contemporain, Pont-Aven, France
- Pedestrian
  Bronx River Art Center Gallery, Bronx, NY
2003
- Is, Was, Will Be
  The Maria Bismark Foundation Gallery, Paris, France
2001
- 25th Annual Emerging Artists Exhibition
  The National Arts Club Gallery, New York, NY
- Thesis Exhibition
  Barnard College, New York, NY
2000
- Identity
  Postcrypt Art Gallery, New York, NY

Residencies, Lectures and Awards

2024
SF MOMA SECA Award nominee, San Francisco, CA
2023
Artist Support Grant, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
2022
Artist Lecture, Center for Photographic Art, Carmel, CA
SF MOMA SECA Award nominee, San Francisco, CA
Visiting Artist Lecture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2020
Ever Gold/Internet Archive Grant, Ever Gold Gallery, San Frnacisco, CA
2018
Artist Lecture, Carolyn Drake with Vanessa Woods, Photo Alliance, San Francisco, CA
Artist Lecture, Jack Fischer Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Being Human: An Artist-Parent Workshop Residency, Palo Alto Art Center, Palo Alto, CA
2017
Parent Artist Residency Program, Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA
Artist Lecture, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
2016
Artist Lecture, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Artist Lecture, California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA
2013
Talking Art: Snipping, Clipping, Pasting (panel discussion with Val Britton, Matt Gonzalez, Robynn Smith, and Vanessa Woods), Institute of Contemporary Art San José, San Jose, CA
2011
Artist Lecture, University of Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO
2008
Artist Residency, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Amherst, VA
Djerassi Resident Artist Program, Woodside, CA
2007
Ella King Torrey Award for Innovation and Excellence in the Arts, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA
James Broughton Award, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA Headlands Center for the Arts MFA Studio Award, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA San Francisco Art Institute MFA Film Fellowship, San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA (awarded full tuition to attend the San Francisco Art Institute MFA program in Film)
2006
Murphy & Cadogan Fellowship for Film, San Francisco Arts Commission, San Francisco, CA
MacDowell Colony Residency, Petersborough, NH
Film Arts Foundation Personal Works Grant, Film Arts Foundation, SF, CA
2005
Pont-Aven Artist-in-Residency Program, Pont-Aven, France
2001
Bernard Hans Hessel Memorial Award, New York, NY
Time Grant for Outstanding Visual Art, Barnard College, New York, NY
2000
Exceptional Artist Scholarship for the Summer Program in France, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI
1999
Patricia Layman Bazelon Scholarship, The International Center of Photography, New York, NY

Publications and Press

2024
- New York Times, A Mother Playing Catch with her Son Illustration, May 2024
- Three Penny Review, Issue 176, Winter, 2024
2022
- Harper’s Magazine, The Edges of Ordinary Life Illustration, March 2022
- Dean Brierly, “Vanessa Woods, Somewhere Between Here and There,” long-form Interview Black & White Magazine, Issue 155 October 2022
- Allie Haeusslein, “Each One of Us was Fastened to the Other: Josh Smith and Vanessa Woods at the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel,” Variable West, February 24, 2022
- Agata Popeda, “This New Photo Exhibit Takes on Parenthood and a Growing Family” Monterey County Weekly, January 18, 2022
2021
- Kate Kelly, “Pictures on Our Mind,” Silver Eye Center for Photography, March 19, 2021
2020
- Vestiges (Pacifica, CA: Self-Published, 2020)
2019
- 50 Best Women Collagists
  Promopress Editions, Barcelona, Spain, February, 2019
2018
- Vanessa Woods at Jack Fischer
  by Max Blue, Square Cylinder, January 30, 2018
- Editorial Recommendations: Vanessa Woods
  by Dewitt Cheng, Visual Art Source, February 2018
- Vanessa Woods Interview
  Multi-Dimension + Collage, By Nara Collective, January, 2018
2017
- Vanessa Woods: Somewhere Between Here and There
  by Aline Smithson, Lensratch, November 6, 2017
- Making the Cut
  The World’s Best Collage Artists, Volume One, Crooks Press, Melbourne, Australia, March, 2017
- An Evening with Baphomet
  Super Classy Publishing, January 2017
- Mekanik Copulaire Volume 9
  Strasburg, France, January 2017
2016
- The Knight and the Cart
  Super Classy Publishing, September 2016
- Emic/Etic
  Super Classy Publishing, May 2016
2015
- Catamaran Literary Reader
  Issue 8, Winter Issue, 2015
2015
- Women Arts Quarterly Journal
  Volume 2, Issue 8, Winter, 2015
2014
- Kolaj Magazine
  Issue 10, Featured Artist, Fall-Winter, 2014
2012
- Women Arts Quarterly Journal
  Volume 2, Issue 3, Summer 2012
2011
- Women Arts Quarterly Journal
  Volume 1, Winter 2011
2009
- The Mansion of Happiness Studies #1-3
  Bird Dog, Volume 10. Seattle, WA. Winter, 2009.
2007
- The Touch
  The Journal of Short Film, Volume 6. Columbus, OH. January, 2007. http://www.thejsf.org/
2006
- Convergence Kirkcudbright, Scotland: Tollhouse Art Center, 2006

Education

2007
- MFA, Film/Photography: With Honors
  San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA.
2001
- BA, Art History and Visual Arts: Cum Laude
  Barnard College, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Public Collections

Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center, Vassar College