Prophets, Saints, and Sentinels

Prophets, Saints, and Sentinels highlights five sculptors and painters working in the Sacramento region who address the uncertainty of the future in their figurative work. Responding to political, social, and environmental unrest, they view art making as a means of fabricating new realities full of wisdom, healing, and guidance. Focusing on human and animal forms, artists Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor, John Yoyogi Fortes, Craig Martinez, Laurelin Gilmore, and Serena Cole create hybrid figures inspired by popular media, children’s fairytales, or mythological sources.

Elisabeth Higgins O’Connor creates animal sculptures from wood scraps, clay, and fabric, enlivening them with dripping glazes and flourishes cut from embroidery and table linens. Her work merges the domestic sphere with the world of fairytale characters. John Yoyogi Fortes takes a more satirical stance in his work on immigration, cultural identity, and power. His drawings weave influences from Filipino history and comic strips on old book covers. Craig Martinez assembles his totemic animal figures from weathered wood, cloth, and found objects to foretell the consequences of climate change. Laurelin Gilmore uses her prodigious talent for realism and interest in science fiction to create paintings that center on supernatural creatures, blending animal life with human form. Serena Cole’s evocative female guardians mix symbols borrowed from ancient tribes with her evolving notion of costume as a protective force. Her figures, which she calls sentinels, observe and warn against dangers both personal and political.

In embracing figurative work, these participating artists make clear that the body continues to offer an appealing platform for personal narrative and social commentary.