A Mixed Media Masterpiece – “Collection of Fragments”

From October 10 to November 7, 2024, the Butte College Art Gallery presents an exhibition of mixed media artworks and large-scale installation at the Main Campus’ Art Building. “Collection of Fragments” showcases the artworks of a local Chico artist, Sabrina Chavez. The reception takes place on Wednesday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Sabrina Chavez is an artist from Northern California, who earned an associate degree in Anthropology from Butte College and graduated from Chico State’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program in 2021. She explains that she had a loving affinity for creating by hand, from a young age. Even from a small doodle or a more serious project, she’d always find the joy in making stuff.

Her artworks are known for incorporating found objects in her paintings and collages. Her piece, “A Crack in the Door,” is a relief print on a small wooden cabinet door. The design itself almost resembles a small cityscape from a bird’s eye in monochrome colors. Chavez states that she initially scavenges “…for things that are relevant to ideas or concepts that I have for a certain piece.”

The filter installation, “Permeate,” is her favorite piece that is currently on display. It consists of several hand dyed and painted recycled air filters that are hung from the ceiling. “Echoes” is a traditional acrylic painting, mixes various strokes of autumn yellows, bright oranges, and blacks.

When asked about the meaning of the exhibition’s title, she says, “I gathered a lot of different phases of my work together which all depict a similar theme or time in my life.” And that a lot of her work deals with the theme of fragility– on how our environments have an impact on identity and emotional states.

Sabrina Chavez’s art exhibition, “Collection of Fragments,” is a wonderful experience available for everyone to attend at Butte College’s Art Gallery from October 10 to November 7, 2024.