Koslov Larsen is pleased to present Bread and Roses, the gallery’s inaugural solo exhibition of Austin-based artist Elizabeth Chiles’ work. Through the recurring motif of the star-shaped aster flower, Chiles explores the nature of connectedness between the cosmos and the individual, the world which shapes us and the worlds of our own creation. The title of the exhibition draws from an early 20th century phrase expressing women’s demands to not only survive, but to thrive: “Bread for all, and roses, too.” Chiles at once embodies the roles of artist, homemaker, mother, and gardener, while celebrating the fruits of those labors through the construction of art and installation. Using only materials produced within her garden and photographed on site at her home, Chiles combines, layers, and re-imagines moments into interior worlds. She states “The works weave light, color, time, and aster flowers in a myriad of ways, speaking to the fundamental, transformational aspects of sunlight and flowers as well as the playful joy of shaping nature into a garden or a work of art.” These works build upon concepts developed in the series Time Being and Weave, previously exhibited in FotoFest’s Ten by Ten show and at Galveston Arts Center.
Bread and Roses will be on view at Koslov Larsen from October 25 through December 20, 2024.
Text below is by the artist.
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Elizabeth Chiles, Lumen (... of star dust, no. 01), 2024 -
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Flowers in the asteracea family (sunflowers, marigolds, daisies among others), with their simple star shaped faces and named after their resemblance to the stars, are central in the exhibition as I am interested in points of contact between the cosmic and the human.
I think of the cosmos as whole, with everything connected.
I think of the human experience as finite with building a home, a life, and relationships at the center of the experience.
A Heaven in a Wildflower is a four-part work of straight photographs containing the fundamental components of my photographic work - simple wildflowers, a piece of fabric, light, and time. Near them the eponymous Bread and Roses works use those four photographs as source materials, combining and re-imagining them into interior worlds.
Echo the Sun, Meadow with Sunflowers, and Stardust Dialogues are works in which the sunflower is a stand in for the sun — a natural time keeper connected to the cycles we experience more clearly with extended time outdoors as we are reminded of our connection to the cosmos.
To some extent, all artwork is autobiographical, but Bread and Roses feels especially personal as the works are made from simple, fundamental elements that I engage with daily as I work to build a life that aligns with my values and sources of inspiration.
The works weave light, color, time, and aster flowers in a myriad of ways, speaking to the fundamental, transformational aspects of sunlight and flowers as well as the playful joy of shaping nature into a garden or a work of art.
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Additional Works Available
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being, no. 16
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being, no. 15
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being, no. 10, 2021
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being, no. 02
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being, no. 01, 2021
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being No. 9
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being No. 12, 2021
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Elizabeth Chiles, Time Being No. 11, 2021
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About the Artist
Born in Austin and raised in Houston, Texas, Elizabeth Chiles graduated with a B.A. in Art History from Columbia University and an M.F.A. in Photography from San Francisco Art Institute. Her work has been widely exhibited, including solo exhibitions at Fotofest, Galveston Arts Center, Southwest School of Art, testsite, and grayDUCK Gallery, as well as group exhibitions at Foley Gallery, conduit gallery, The Texas Biennial, and The Contemporary Austin. Her work is in the public collections of The City of Houston, The City of Austin, Dell Children’s Hospital, The LINE Hotel, Google, and University Health Women's & Children's Hospital, among others. Elizabeth has taught over 30 courses in theory and photography at The University of Texas at Austin, Texas State University, and Southwestern University. She served on the Board of Trustees and was co-chair of programming at the Austin Center for Photography from 2008–2015 and has served as a mentor to several young artists and a juror on a number of grants and awards panels. She is the recipient of City of Austin arts grants from 2014–2021.
