Clarisse Abelarde
Summer 2024 Artist in Residence
“As a multidisciplinary artist primarily working with oil paint, it is vital to have the time and space to produce large-scale paintings. Engaging with the local community can also push the work to new heights, opening doors to new subject matter and finding inspiration within the surrounding environment. Having access to a studio will empower my practice to evolve and prosper.”
-Clarisse Abelarde, Summer 2024 AiR
Artist Statement:
As a Filipina immigrant, Clarisse has been heavily influenced by her need to adapt and the changes that occur when assimilating to a foreign culture. Her work explores the notion of self-representation and the difference between the internal self and the external mask, addressing the psyche’s unrest in the current age of information overload, experiencing a slow coming together of the work and discovering ways the figure-ground dissolves and combines into a space where reality and the digital world merge. Abelarde is interested in shattering spaces, pushing their naturalistic elements using graphic shapes or high color saturation. Inspired by the Abstract Expressionist art movement, including and disrupting components of realism allows me to find a tenuous balance between the two worlds that are neither grounded nor completely illogical. Ultimately, she aims to depict the emotional conflict between overwhelming external influences and intense internal introspection by combining several artistic disciplines. Clarisse received a BFA in drawing and painting at CSU Long Beach.
Clarisse Abelarde:
A Fort Held Together by Spit & Prayers
August 24 - September 27, 2024
Clarisse unveils a project that serves as both a personal refuge and a critical commentary on contemporary society. “I set out to build a sanctuary—a space where vulnerability is met with acceptance, where judgment is suspended, and where the mind can find shelter,” Clarisse explains. The concept of a ‘fort’—a structure meant to protect and defend—emerged from a series of profound conversations with fellow creatives. These discussions revealed a shared anxiety about the fragility of human connection in the digital age.
The exhibition is deeply rooted in the paradoxes of modern life. “We live in a world where connection is both desperately craved and overwhelmingly abundant,” Clarisse reflects. “Social media, while designed to bring us closer, often leaves us feeling isolated, fragmented, and commodified. We’re constantly performing for an audience, curating our lives for attention andvalidation while grappling with the erosion of our sense of self. What happens to our psyche when our value is measured in likes, follows, and influence?”
“A Fort Held Together by Spit and Prayers” is her metaphorical security blanket. The fort is symbolic—constructed from fragile, everyday materials, representing the delicatebalance between vulnerability and resilience. The title evokes the idea of holding on by a thread, relying on sheer willpower and faith to maintain one’s sense of self in a world that often feels overwhelming.
The exhibition invites viewers into a space that is both introspective and communal, offering a moment of pause to reflect on the pressures and contradictions of living in the modern digital landscape. Clarisse has created an environment where the psyche can find rest, even if just for a moment, amidst the noise of contemporary life. Each piece in the exhibition serves as a window into her mind, capturing the tension between the desire for connection and the need for solitude, between exposure and protection.
