Perfectly Imperfect, a group art show that featured 27 artists based in the US, UK, Italy, Spain, Chile and Mexico, was on view from November 9th to the 31st, 2024.

 

The show featured new original artworks by artists Ágata Pérez, Alexis Marcie Bomarito, Amelia Johannsen, Arianna Gazca, Bea Garth, Bernadette Fox, Daria Loi, Deborah Donelson, Francesca Dalla Benetta, Francesca Loi, Holly de Saillan, Jacqueline Myers-Cho, Kate Reed, Laura Pedrini, Linda Tarr, Mimma Scarpini, Natasha Martinovic, Rosa Henriquez, Ruth Meijer, Sage Kemmerlin, Sena Clara Creston, Sandra Alderman, Sue Schaefer, Strauss-McQueen, Wynter Jones, Zarod Rominski and Zexuan Jia.

Artists were challenged to explore notions of imperfection and the beauty of imperfect uniqueness by creating monochromatic artworks in any medium. The 27 artworks on show included oil and acrylic paintings, ceramic art, art dolls, bronze sculptures, multimedia art, mixed media art, fiber art, ink and pencil drawings and photography.

Artists Strauss-McQueen stated that "perfection is a mirage -- and yet, as humans we aspire with amusing naivety to this unattainable plane." Their piece, entitled Per[fiction], poetically demonstrates this paradox. Ceramist Linda Tarr, who created a tonal percussion instrument, reflected: "to assume imperfection enables risk" and art doll maker Zexuan Jia created a cat that is "attempting to sew herself back together" because "it is perfectly fine to be flawed" if you try to "pull everything together."  Multimedia artist Arianna Gazca, leveraging dark color schemes, expressed the "feeling of emptiness, uncertainty, and ominous ambiguity" associated with notions of imperfection. 
While Kate Reed explored "how even a person who is "perfect" can often only see their own perceived imperfections," Natasha Martinovic depicted "the moment of acceptance of oneself and one's imperfections as a sign of individuality and self-knowledge."

The above statements are a small sample of the powerful stories and interpretations of what imperfection may mean and represent. As Amelia Johannsen put it, "in a world driven by ideals of perfection", imperfections are not failures, but "marks of life, evidence of growth, resilience, and adaptation."