Posted: February 2, 2022Written by: Ritchie Bermudez

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Cuesta College’s spring semester art gallery exhibition Nobles Among Us: material thoughts on a poetic ecology by Sommer Roman opens Feb. 9 at the Harold J. Miossi Art Gallery and will run through Apr. 1. 

Local multi-disciplinary artist Roman uses recycled materials, discarded clothing and linens, nature objects, and building materials to create works embedded with themes of everyday life, domesticity, the body, and the wild. 

In this new body of work, Roman plays with French philosopher René Descartes’ famous words, “‘I think, therefore I am.” She uses the locus of the head as a starting point to question this site as the source of intellect and knowledge and as a rationale to seeing ourselves as above and apart from that which is non-human. 

“My work proposes an alter-logical, multisensory intellect that stretches beyond the safety of cerebral and verbal certitude and instead returns us to realms of the corporeal, the wild, and the domestic,” said Roman. “While working with materials and imagery associated with these realms of home, land, and body, I study their visual language as well as create new ones.” 

Sommer Roman was born and raised in California and received her BA from UC Santa Cruz and her MFA from UC Santa Barbara. She lives on the Central Coast with her husband and two young children and occasionally teaches at local universities.

The opening reception for Nobles Among Us is on Wednesday, Feb. 9, from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. An artist talk with Roman is scheduled for Thursday, Mar. 10 at 5:30 p.m. in Room 6304 on the San Luis Obispo campus. Live streaming of the event is also available at bit.ly/noblesamongus.

Admission to the gallery is free. Please visit the gallery webpage or call (805) 546-3202 for a schedule of exhibits and hours of operation.  

Students, employees, and visitors who access Cuesta College campuses and facilities must provide proof of vaccination against COVID-19 or a negative test within 72 hours of the campus visit. Following CDC guidelines, proper face coverings are required in all indoor public areas and shared spaces for everyone, regardless of vaccination status. Find out more about Cuesta College’s vaccine requirement at cuesta.edu/vaccine.