Step 1: Identify

Step 1: Identify

In this exhibit, Knecht grapples with issues of racial, cultural, and sexual identity, including being bi-racial and the conflicting forces at play. The art is somewhat experiential, as she employs depth, shadows, and projections in this series. Some works are more akin to wall sculptures, and others appear flat at first glance, but have layers of fragments embedded in resin beneath the surface. Vintage window frames form the structure for several pieces, with hand-painted sections, colored resin and film, and various objects and ephemera. The bright colors and graphic sensibility are a nod to Japanese art, packaging and design.

Identify refers to both personal and group identity, and identifying problems that exist, which is the first step in resolution. This is Knecht’s most personal work, evolving from her solo show “Equal Justice Under Law,” at the Ontario Museum of Art and History, which ran concurrently with an exhibit on the Tule Lake incarceration of Japanese Americans, and the recent increase in anti-Asian hate in this country.