Exploring themes of joy, liberation, and radical inclusion, in her latest body of work Hold it Lightly for an exhibition at Saint Mary's College Museum of Art, Lisa Congdon creates digital drawings, which are then transformed into large, multi-color, layered serigraphs. Her work elevates mundane, simple shapes into discourse with symbols from her own life, nature and the supernatural in pared-down, unfussy, organized arrangements and graphic renderings. Through her iconic hand lettering, Congdon integrates messages into her work, which are both intentionally joyful and hopeful and, simultaneously, unabashedly outspoken and often subversive.
Hold It Lightly is exhibited in conversation with legendary pop-artist Corita Kent's heroes and sheroes series, and Congdon's work reflects the profound personal impact of Kent's legacy on her work, process and pedagogy. Typically working in paint, Hold it Lightly represents the artist's first exhibit of printed matter. Congdon graduated from Saint Mary's College of California in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in History and is the first alumni to have a solo show at the museum.
