Renée DeCarlo (American, b. 1972) “I always begin with drawing, which really begins as mark-making, the essence of drawing. My point of departure, is usually somewhere in a state of chaos - where I leave the environment or a situation in charge of the direction to which the marks are made. It is then up to me to find or create a sense of order; to clean up the marks and form and build a narrative with lines and layers of color. I work on paper and wood simultaneously, and often integrate them with each other. It could be my eternal longing for and foundation in clay, but my instinctive nature is to seek out the boundaries of a material’s strength and fragility – and to define its breaking point. Both paper and wood seem to naturally coalesce with my need to push and pull. I use painting, printmaking, sewing, collaging, incising, tearing and perforating to draw, and choose my surfaces and materials accordingly. Aesthetically, my work is imbued with elements that reflect on the world around me – where struggles for balance and variation exist in the spaces between order and chaos. I began drawing because it was transportable, cathartic and accessible. I’ve now worked over the past 20 years to redefine what drawing is to me, and have yet to find a complete and simple answer. I’m constantly on the prowl for that moment of discovery and opportunity to evolve. How a drawing begins and ends, spans the spectrum of, and defines the spaces between chaos and control.” Education 1997-00 University of Oregon, MFA, Sculpture 1991-96 San Diego State University, BFA, Sculpture Solo Exhibitions 2016 SF Spring Open Studios @ Yosemite Place. San Francisco, CA 2015 Spectrum, Propeller Modern. San Francisco, CA SF Open Studios. Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason. San Francisco, CA 2014 ColorWheel, Propeller Modern. San Francisco, CA SF Open Studios. Herbst Pavilion, Fort Mason. San Francisco, CA 2013 Associations, Blackbird Bar and Gallery. San Francisco, CA Continuum, Front Porch. San Francisco, CA 2012 Hybrids, SF Perinatal Associates. San Francisco, CA SF Open Studios. Fort Mason. San Francisco, CA 2011 Hybrid Topologies, Descend Salon. San Francisco, CA The Wax Collection, SF Perinatal Associates. San Francisco, CA 2010 Accumulations, Lotus Salon and Gallery. San Francisco, CA SF Open Studios. San Francisco, CA 2009 Fingerprints and Recitations, Lotus Salon and Gallery. San Francisco, CA 2008 ArtSpan Open Studios. Hunters Point Shipyard. San Francisco, CA 2000 Sleeping Chamber, Eric Washburn Gallery. Eugene, OR Group Exhibitions 2017 Artist as Translator, Chloe Gallery, San Francisco, CA StartUp Art Fair, Hotel Del Sol. San Francisco, CA DZINE Gallery. “Pure: Burning Bright”. San Francisco, CA