Di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art is presenting a group exhibition featuring the work of 11 artists, a collaboration called "M is for Water," organized by artist Isabelle Sorrell.

"M is for Water" is the latest in a series of exhibitions by Sorrell that explore the origins of language and its relation to human consciousness. The exhibit is a collection of figurative and abstract work from a diverse group of artists and will be displayed June 29 - Oct. 6 in Gallery 1.

The collaboration features the work of Shiva Ahmadi, Mari Andrews, Mildred Howard, Paul Kos, Hung Liu, Cheryl Meeker, Susan Middleton, Gay Outlaw, J. John Priola, Sorrell, Theodora Varnay Jones, and Wanxin Zhang.

An opening reception n June 29, welcomes the public from 6 to 7 p.m. The reception costs $10 general admission and is free for di Rosa members.

The exhibition examines limits of elemental materiality and explores the origins of language, where the differentiation between "water" and "mother" begin to diverge.

Sorrell wrote that "M" is believed to be one of the first letters of the Phoenician alphabet and had an antecedent in the Egyptian hieroglyph describing "water."

"It's history is intertwined with its mirror: 'W.' Words with a common etymology convey meanings that reveal the source of life in nature and humans alike," Sorrell wrote. "The letter 'M' reflects the sacredness of these shared origins: there is no life without water, there is no child without mother."

On July 13, the Center is hosting an artist panel discussion from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Event moderator and guest exhibition curator Sorrell will lead the discussion along with artists Kos, Zhang, Middleton, Andrews, and Outlaw. Artists will discuss their work and the collection's themes. General admission is $25, including gallery admission. It's free for members.

Featured artists

Shiva Ahmadi is an Iranian-American artist based in the Bay Area and is represented by Haines Gallery. Ahmadi uses a variety of mediums including paint, sculpture, and animation, to tell stories. With luminous colors, mystical beings and violent imagery, Ahmadi's work draws awareness to global issues such as migration, war, and brutality against marginalized people.

Mari Andrews has created delicate, haiku-like sculptures for the past two decades. Her three-dimensional drawings combine found natural objects such as seeds, leaves, moss, and stones, with linear human-made materials such as metal wire. Her intricate pieces use a range of mediums and styles.

Paul Kos is a conceptual, visual artist who has been a leading member of the Bay Area Conceptual Art movement since the 1960s. He's best known for sculptural installations that incorporate video, sound, and interactivity. The Bay Area Conceptual Art movement experimented with performance, new forms of media, and installations.

Hung Liu was a contemporary artist known for her powerful paintings based primarily on historical Chinese photographs, and installations that addressed racial and cultural complexities she witnessed upon immigrating to the U.S. at age 36. She lived from 1948 - 2021.

Cheryl Meeker is a San Francisco based visual artist who a range of mediums; from photography to installation, drawing, painting, archives, video, interactive web projects, and social sculpture. Her work often touches on the fundamentals of sustenance in our environmentally destabilized world.

Susan Middleton is a San Francisco based artist, photographer, author, and educator who specializes in the portraiture of rare and endangered animals, plants, sites, and cultures. She was Chair of the Department of Photography at the California Academy of Sciences from 1982 -1995, where she now serves as research associate.

Gay Outlaw is an visual artist working in sculpture, photography, and printmaking. She is known for her rigorous and unexpected explorations of materials. She is represented by Anglim/Trimble in San Francisco, and is the recipient of awards and honors including SFMOMA's SECA Award. She has solo exhibited at places like the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art.

J. John Priola is a San Francisco-based contemporary visual artist and educator. He received an MFA from SFAI in 1987. His work has been featured in many exhibitions including In A Different Light, Berkeley Art Museum and Prospect 1996, and the Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, Germany. His work is featured at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Theodora Varnay Jones is a San Francisco based visual artist who works in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional mediums. She was born in Budapest, Hungary, and has exhibited internationally and her work has been held in public collections in the U.S, Hungary, Costa Rica and Japan.