Tiger Strikes Asteroid Los Angeles is pleased to present References Upon Request, featuring artists Karen Tepaz and Lesley Kice Nishigawara curated by TSA LA member Armando Ramos. This exhibition is exploring how shapes and structures emerge from the relationship between the natural and manufactured objects. This work expresses those complex spaces that develop when form and color develop. The works blend color and texture finding a comfortable place between the distinctions of decay and the collective. The exhibition is a collection of works in clay, textile, and paper. Karen Tepaz is interested in the expressive potential of objects and their ability to open and close a space simultaneously. Her sculptures blend the use of color, form and material in a compositional lexicon. Tepaz received her M.F.A in Sculpture from Yale University School of Art and a B.F.A in Ceramics from California State University, Long Beach. Recent exhibitions include solo shows at Sardine gallery, (Brooklyn, NY) CACTTUS gallery (Long Beach, CA), and group shows at The Shirley Fiterman Art Center, BMCC (NY,NY), The Gallery ATLAS (NY,NY) GlenLily Grounds- Outdoor Sculpture Exhibition (Newburgh, NY) The Whitney Houston Biennial (NY,NY) BOMB POP-UP (Brooklyn, NY), Basement Projects (Santa Ana, CA) among others. In 2018 Tepaz co-curated “Flat Touch” and “In Between the Lines” in Steuben Gallery at Pratt Institute (Brooklyn, NY). She is the recipient of the Art Farm Nebraska Residency, and this spring she was invited to exhibit new work at Thomas Hunter Project Space, at Hunter College ( NY, NY). Tepaz lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Lesley Kice Nishigawara examines systems of order through visual and formal articulations. She extracts ideas from her surrounding environment that reexamine and abstract through varied mediums to reveal layered possibilities. Lesley received her M.F.A in Fiber from California State University, Long Beach and a B.F.A in Fiber from Kansas City Art Institute. She recently had a solo exhibition at Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, California. Her work has been exhibited at SCAPE (Corona Del Mar, CA) Greater Denton Arts Council (Denton, Texas), and China National Silk Museum (Hangzhou, China). Lesley lives and works in Orange County, California. The show runs from January 5 to January 27, with an opening reception on Saturday, January 5, from 7 to 10 PM. For more information please contact TSA LA at losangeles@tigerstrikeasteroid.com or visit our website at www.tigerstrikesasteroid.com. The gallery is free and open to the public from 12 PM to 5 PM on Saturday and Sunday, with additional hours by appointment. Tiger Strikes Asteroid is a network of artist-run spaces with locations in Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Each space is independently operated and focuses on presenting a varied program of emerging and mid-career artists. Our goal is to collectively bring people together, expand connections and build community through artist-initiated exhibitions, projects, and curatorial opportunities. We seek to further empower the artist’s role beyond that of studio practitioner to include the roles of curator, critic, and community developer; and to act as an alternate model to the conventions of the current commercial art market. Tiger Strikes Asteroid is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization. On view at the other Tiger Strikes Asteroid Locations: PHILADELPHIA: Geometry October 26 - December 8 NEW YORK: The Flat File: Year Six November 30 - December 16 CHICAGO: Allison Reimus: What Matters to You / What’s the Matter with You October 28 - December 9