Similar to the mission of many art organizations, San Francisco's waste management service, Recology, is guided by the belief that art plays a unique role in educating and inspiring the public. Each year, Recology awards residencies to artists, which include a stipend, coveted studio space, and scavenging privileges at their Transfer Station and Recycling Center. While many would view the facility as the dump, Recology artists consider the site the Big Store, providing unique opportunities to recycle and reclaim discarded waste as reimagined art objects. This exhibition, Reclaimed: The Art of Recology, presents a fascinating survey of thirty-three artists from diverse backgrounds who were awarded space, financial support, and four months to create wondrous, meaningful, and thought-provoking artworks that speak to the past, present, and future.

The Recology Artist in Residence (AIR) program was founded by local artist and environmentalist Jo Hanson, who was well-known in the 1970s for her public art practice of street sweeping in the Lower Haight District. Hanson's actions caught the attention of San Francisco City officials and Recology senior management, who invited the artist to the SF Transfer Station to see where the trash she collected ended up. There, Hanson saw the immense artistic potential of the materials headed to the landfill and proposed the Artist in Residence Program to involve the community in environmental education through the arts.

Recology's Artist in Residence program launched in 1990, and since then, over 150 professional artists and 50 student artists (and counting!) have completed residencies, making art from scavenged materials. By offering this rare opportunity to create artwork from the City's detritus, Recology hopes to inspire communities not just to reduce, reuse, and recycle but conserve natural resources. Additionally, the AIR program seeks to amplify the voices of systematically marginalized populations and provide a community space for learning for educational programs that promote a more just and sustainable world.

Spanning art forms that include innovative furniture design, papermaking, performance art, quilting, animation, sculpture, and more, this exhibition highlights the limitless ingenuity and resilience of the human spirit. Rather than doomsday warnings, Reclaimed emphasizes that art is an incredible force in changing hearts and minds. Through their introspective, playful, and highly original explorations, the exhibition artists reveal the hidden stories our rubbish tells us about ourselves and our relationship with the earth. Many questions are also presented: can we become innovative eco-friendly designers? Can we be creative about our consumption habits? Can we transform the world into a beautiful, sustainable, and safe home for all?

Reclaimed: The Art of Recology is a collaborative effort between us, the artists, and you - the viewer. It is a call to action, and we hope you leave this exhibition inspired to take further steps to protect our planet through creativity and thoughtful ingenuity.

--Emilee Enders, Curator of Exhibitions and Programs, Bedford Gallery

--Deborah Munk, Manager, Artist in Residence Program, Recology

Reclaimed: The Art of Recology was organized by Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts, Walnut Creek, CA.

Thumbnail image: 

Nemo Gould, Impala, 2007, electric sander, band saw, projector, vacuum cleaners, meat grinder, motorcycle clutch lever, antlers, garlic press, conduit cover, 23 x 9 x 21 in. Courtesy of Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program

Shown Above (L toR): 

Chris Sollars, Silver Space Suit, 2015, digital print, 18 1/2 x 11 1/8 in. Courtesy of Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program

Andrew Junge, Pandora's Box, 2005, neon, toolbox, 13.75 x 19.25 x 11.5 in. Courtesy of Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program

Lauren DiCioccio, Thank You Bag, 2011, hand-embroidery on machine-quilted organza silk and cotton, wire, 19 x 15 x 16 in. Courtesy of Recology San Francisco Artist in Residence Program