15 Bay Area artists are exhibiting work considering personal identity and the many ways of disguising, concealing and revealing oneself through distortion, substitution, masks and other strategies. Some of the artwork is playful, some is somber and even spooky. Artwork ranges from expressionistic self-portraiture to a body sheath created from discarded zippers. The work tells us how the artists see themselves through disguises, distortions, substitution, masks and other strategies.


The artists in Avatars / Aliases / Alter-Egos are all members of GRO / Gallery Route One, an alternative nonprofit art organization with a gallery in Point Reyes Station. The organization exhibits artist members and nonmember artists drawn from the greater Bay Area and beyond, and provides community outreach programs based on art practice and environmental awareness. GRO has been offering an alternative exhibit space for Bay Area artists and for 28 years, conducts art programs in the local schools and has an ongoing Latino Photography Project for adults in the West Marin Latino community. Member artists provide financial support and volunteer labor to keep the organization running. Fred Crum, director of 1044 Larkin was one of the original members when GRO started in 1983, and has maintained ties to the West Marin art community.