Shooting for the stars

Just before headinginto Quint Gallery in La Jolla,I takea moment to watch aslocals and tourists walkbythespace.I’m early for myinterview with Sasha KoozelReibstein, a localsculptor whose new show, “Are You OkayintheDark?, recently openedatthe gallery.

To understandthe work of Reibsteinis to intimatelyknow the place betweendiscomfort and captivation. For over a decade, she has constructedstartlingly colorfulsculptures fromherhome andstudioin La Mesa.Her work is beautiful andtransfixing,bright and resplendentinuse of glitter anddrips.Itcanalsobedeeply unsettling,withits geologic textures,basesthatseem to beliquifyingunder the weight,and,in somecases,spikesandshards jutting out likea protectant.

Thisismostclearly representedin“Devouringa Star,”the Reibsteinpiecethatis currently displayedintheQuintGallery window. It isoneofher firstpieces intended to bemounted on a wall, ratherthandisplayedon a surface.

Ithasanalmost typographical quality to it,somewhatdisconcertinginnature andnotsolelybecause ofitsprotruding black spikesmade from flockfabric.

WhileI’mvisiting,I witness two peoplestopatthewindow to take itin,its24-karat white golddrippings glistening intheafternoon sun.Theymarvel atit,scratching their chins,andonepasserby shakeshisheadbefore walking away.

“Ipulledthatoneoffbytheskin ofmy teeth,”Reibsteinsaysonce

I’minsidethe gallery. She adds thatithadbeen over a decade since she’d done a sculptural piece meant to bemountedonthe wall. “I want to make thousandsmore ofthem.”

When I point outtheintimidatingnature ofthepiece,Reibsteinsmiles mischievously and simplysays, “thank you.”And that’s justit, really Reibstein createshighly reactive works, but what reactionstheyelicitare highlydependentontheperson viewingthepieceandwhere they’re atintheir own lives.Ceramics,as a practice,canbe frustrating and reactive initself,but Reibsteinfullyembraces this chaos, experimentingwithnew materialsand workingalmost scientifically to create herotherworldly pieces.

“Myaesthetichas changed dramatically, mostlyinthesense oftighteningup,”saysReibstein, who grew upinPhiladelphia. “Texture has alwaysbeen very presentforme,butit was always thismessy, physicalthing.Andso, refiningitand controlling itisthe dramaticdifferenceinmy work now.”

Sincemoving to theSanDiego area,Reibsteinhasdisplayedher work in dozensof group and solo exhibitions.She won an“EmergingArtist SanDiego Art Prizein 2016, has worked as a gallery director at the Boehm Gallery inSan Marcos,andis currentlythehead oftheceramicsdepartmentat PalomarCollege.Evenwithall thesethings goingon,Reibstein’s own work has evolved exponentially overthe years. Whilesome localartistswillsimply find a form andpracticethatsuitsthemand stickwithit,the works ondisplay at “Are You Okay intheDark?”are representative ofanartistwhois notonly working atthe top ofher game,butalso of onewhosepersonaloutlookhasshifted to directlyembraceherpersonal experienceswithmotherhood,trauma andmentalhealth.

“There’sa clarity inmythought now thatI wasn’table toexperiencebefore andthathashelped me refinesomeofthethings that I’mdoing,”Reibsteinsays. “Just tighter and probablymore beauti- ful.I’mfeelingless chaoticwith myself,andthat’s probably reflectedinthepieces.”

EvensomeofReibstein’s signature elements,such astheuse of dripformsshebeganusingin2018, have takenon a differentfeeling. Shesaysthat,atthetime,theuse ofthedrips was about“collapse” or“givingup,”butshenow sees themassomethingmore sanguine and representative ofher overall outlookonlife.

“It was thisideaof,atwhat pointdo you collapse?” recalls Reibstein. “Andthathas evolved dramatically to where itbecame, whatifit’s about releaseorletting go ofsomething Maybe somethingalive and growing,andalso embodyingthe transformation andmakingthese objectslooklike they’re inmovement.”

This ideaof“letting go” is currentthroughoutthepiecesin “Are You OkayintheDark?”Reibstein usesbroadscientific concepts such as astrophysicsandastrobiology to address interpersonal issues,the conceptoftimetravel to addressintergenerational trauma,interstellarportals to address existentialdread. For Reibstein,whohasdealtwith issuessuch asmiscarriagesand infertility overthepastdecade, shebegan toexamineher own family’s issueswithsimilartraumas.Shespeaks ofher greatgrandmother fleeing from Russia andlosing fivechildreninthe processwhilealsobeingimprisoned.Onlyoneofher children, Reibstein’s grandmother, madeit to the UnitedStates.

“I’ve done research onintergenerationaltrauma,and I know how itcan change your genes,so I was reallythinkingaboutthat,andhow spaceis a way to separate fromthe rightnow, ofhow time works asa construct,”Reibsteinsays. “The ideaofstoppingtimeandmaybe coexistingwiththem, a way to connectwiththemandseparate myself fromthehere andnow.”

Onethingthathasinformed thisoutlook isher9-year-oldson who,like most children,isbeginning toexplore these types of scientific concepts. For example, Reibsteinpointsouthow she learned fromhersonhow astronautshave a thinlayerof gold on theirvisors to protectthem from UVrays.Shesaysthatherunderstandingof gold,especiallywithin her work was limited to itsemittingoflight,ratherthanusing lightas a protectant.In current pieces such as “AstralCrust and “CrazedHeaven andGroaning Earth,”theviewer cansee this shift inperspective, withReibstein’s golddripslookingasif they’re growing on thepiece to perhaps,oneday fullyshieldit from outsideforces.

“Justmaking thatliteral connection,thatthishas resonance that I didn’t even know about,” Reibsteinsays “Thinkingofitas protective lightthatalso referencesmythoughts aboutlight fromwithin comingout,asopposed to darkness absorbingand consuming you.It wasa reiteration;it cuedinto some subconsciousthings andputmore value onthem.”

To callReibstein’s current work “beautiful”is a distinction shestill finds a bit dubious.Itis,inmy opinion,someofthemostbeautiful workcurrentlybeingproduced inSanDiego,butitisalso, to paraphraseRodgers and Hart, bewitching,bothersome andbewilderingin waysthatmake passersbyin La Jollastopandtake notice. Justasifshe were anastronomerattempting to mapthe stars Reibsteinhaslearned to work within theunknown.Shehas embracedthe disorderwithinthe universe andthetravailsoflife, creating mini monumentsofher timeonthisastralplane.

“Ididn’t findthe work soothing before,butnow in allaspectsI’m able to appreciate theneedfor soothingnessand,particularly thesepast two years,theneed for escape,”Reibsteinsays.“My work candothatandthathasvalue. Thisideaofpure escapism,somethingthatcanbemagicaland unknown; to embracethatand want to beable to offerit to other people.I never wantpeople to look atitandsay ‘Iknow whatthatis.’I wantthem to lookatitandbelike, ‘Ooh,whatisthat?’” Combsisafreelancewriter.

“HowHigh We Gointhe Dark” by Sequoia Nagamatsu(WilliamMorrow):Nagamatsu,who livesinMinneapolis,beganwritinghisdebut novel 10 yearsagoina Toyko Internetcafe— longbeforeanyonehadheard of COVID-19. The yearis2030,anda researcherintheArctic unwittingly releasesalong-frozenvirusthat sendsaplagueintothe world.

“TheMatchmaker:ASpyinBerlin” byPaul Vidich(PegasusCrime):Whenher EastGerman husband goesmissing,anAmericantranslator workingin WestGermany realizeshermarriage was basedondeception.

Fiction

1. “TheMidnightLibrary” by Matt Haig(Viking)

2. “TheMaid” by NitaProse(Ballantine)

3. “TheLincolnHighway” by Amor Towles(Viking)

4. “TheHorsewoman” by James PattersonandMike Lupica(Little,Brown)

5. “One Step Too Far” by Lisa Gardner(Dutton)

6. “TheLast ThingHe ToldMe” by Laura Dave (Simon&Schuster)

7. “TheJudge’sList” by JohnGrisham(Doubleday)

8. “The StrangerintheLifeboat” by MitchAlbom(Harper)

9. “Wish You Were Here” by JodiPicoult(Ballantine)

10. “To Paradise” by Hanya Yanagihara(Doubleday)

11. “CallUsWhat We Carry” by Amanda Gorman(Viking)

12. “Cloud CuckooLand” by AnthonyDoerr (Scribner)

Nonfiction

1. “The 1619Project” edited by NikoleHannah-Jones, Caitlin Roper, IlenaSilverman andJakeSilverstein (One World)

2. “EnoughAlready” by ValerieBertinelli(Harvest)

3. “TheBetrayal of Anne Frank” byRosemarySullivan(Harper)

4. “Unthinkable” by Jamie Raskin(Harper)

5. “Greenlights” by MatthewMcConaughey (Crown)

6. “Will” by WillSmith withMark Manson (Penguin Press)

7. “CryinginHMart” by Michelle Zauner(Knopf)

8. “The Storyteller” by Dave Grohl(Dey Street)

9. “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle(Dial)

10 “BloodintheGarden” by ChrisHerring (Atria)

11. “Taste” by Stanley Tucci (Gallery)

12. “The RealAnthony Fauci” byRobert F. KennedyJr. (Skyhorse)

1. “Violeta” by IsabelAllende

2. “TheLincolnHighway” by Amor Towles

3. “TheAnomaly” by Hervé Le Tellier

4. “The ThursdayMurderClub” by Richard Osman

5. “ThesePrecious Days” by Ann Patchett

6. “Migrations” by Charlotte McConaghy

7. “TheMaid” by NitaProse

8. “A GentlemaninMoscow” by Amor Towles

9. “OlgaDiesDreaming” by XochitlGonzalez

10 “TheNatureof Fragile Things” by SusanMeissner

CALENDAR

ADVENTURES BY THEBOOK,(619)300-2532

Online: adventuresbythebook.com

Virtual event:“TheOnes We Keep”:a Virtual Fireside

Adventurewithdebutnovelist BobbieJeanHuff

4p.m. Wednesday

Virtual event: “AmericanDirt”: Free Virtual Adventure with Jeanine Cummins,4p.m. Thursday

In-person event:“The Power of Regret”:aliveand in-person Adventure featuring DanielPink,2p.m.

Saturday MYSTERIOUS GALAXY, (619) 539-7137

Online: mystgalaxy.com

Virtual event: SeressiaGlass discussing“The Love

Con,”2p.m. today

In-person event: DanaSchwartz discussing

“Anatomy,” 7p.m.Monday

Virtual event: ScottDrakeford (“Rise of theMages”) inconversationwith L.E.ModesittJr., 6p.m. Tuesday

In-person event: RobOsler discussing“Devil’sChew Toy,”7p.m. Wednesday

Virtual event: Tracy Wolff discussing“Court,”7p.m.

Thursday

Virtual event: AprilAsher (“Notthe Witch You Wed”) inconversationwith Erin Sterling,7p.m. Friday

SANDIEGOPUBLICLIBRARY, (619) 236-5800

Online: sandiego.librarymarket.com/events

Virtual event forBlackHistoryMonth: Localauthor

Wanjiru Warama,(“TheColonizedandtheScramble for Africa”),2p.m.Saturday

WARWICK’S,(858) 454-0347

Online: warwicks.com

In-person event: Weekends With Localswith Wayne

Raffesberger (“ThankGodIGot Polio:ALife of Adventureandthe Adventure of Life”),2p.m. today

Virtual event: JoeIde (“TheGoodbye Coast”)in conversationwith Jeniffer Thompson,6p.m.

Tuesday

Virtual event: RebeccaSacks (“City of a Thousand Gates”)inconversationwith Vu Tran,4p.m.

Wednesday