Call of the Void 
Laura Rokas - Erik Bender

Opens Friday, October 4, 6 - 9 pm
October 4 – November 9 
 

1599fdT is thrilled to announce the opening of Call of the Void, a two-person exhibition by artists Laura Rokas and Erik Bender. Featuring a new collection of paintings and sculptures, the artists juxtapose the allure of beauty and perfection with the seductive pull of destructive urges, reflecting on how individuals confront vulnerability as a method of fostering resilience and reclaiming control. 

The title, Call of the Void, refers to the fleeting and often misunderstood urge to engage in self-destructive behavior, such as a sudden desire to veer off a cliff or jump from a tall building. This paradoxical phenomenon, hypothesized to be a misinterpreted safety signal, underpins the thematic exploration of coping with danger, perfectionism, and pain ultimately embracing the void as a path to survival and empowerment.

Laura Rokas received an MFA at the San Francisco Art Institute in 2016 where she was awarded the Graduate Fellowship, the Murphy and Cadogan Award, the Alan B Stone Painting Scholarship, and the Anne Bremer Award. Rokas has been exhibited internationally as well as extensively in the Bay Area including a recent solo presentation at 1599fdT Gallery in San Francisco as well as at CTRL-SHFT Gallery in Oakland, NIAD Center in Richmond CA, La Esquina in Kansas City, MO, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Jack Hanley Gallery in New York, FOFA Gallery in Montréal, the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art in Toronto and the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa.  A three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Grant, Rokas was also awarded an endowment from the Québec Council for the Arts and was selected as a finalist in the 2017 Royal Bank of Canada painting competition. Upcoming exhibitions include the Warren G. Flowers Gallery in Montréal, the NADA Salon in Paris with San Francisco gallery Et Al, and the Marin MOCA in Novato. Born in Saint-Jean-Sur-Richelieu, Québec, she now lives and works in San Francisco where she is a studio member at Minnesota Street Project.

Erik Bender is an artist living and working in Oakland, CA. He received a BA in Art Practice from the University of California Berkeley and has exhibited in solo and group exhibitions at various galleries including Et Al Gallery in San Francisco, CA, pt.2 Gallery in Oakland, CA as well as Goodmother Gallery, Tlaloc Studios and Franchise Gallery in Los Angeles, CA