An artist’s transitional periods from two extremes can become a common occurrence. The highs in life feel euphoric compared to the quick pitfalls that will catch one high and dry. “The Inbetweenness,” curated by Marisa Sage, encapsulates those feelings and experiences from six selected artists’ pieces, displaying their personal perspective of the exhibition’s theme.
At the UTSA Southwest Campus, Sage’s exhibition was part of the 2025 Contemporary Art Month Perennial Exhibition on March 22. CAM is an annual event in San Antonio showcasing local artists, performers and curators at local galleries, museums and studios in various unconventional locations across the city. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, their initiative is to raise the national profile of the finest artists in the Alamo City.
At the Russell Hill Rogers Gallery room in the Santikos Building, curator Sage recounts her visits with each artist and how it contributed to her vision of the central themes behind the exhibition. The artists in the central room were the individual stories that were most significant to Sage’s vision of “The Inbetweenness.”
“I did studio visits with every single one of these artists. One of the things they ended up speaking about are these translations or transformations and what happens in between those moments, and that was literal. That was metaphorical; that was conceptual.
“Bella Martinez, who really talks about the in-betweenness of the materials that she’s sourcing from — when something is pulp versus when it’s acrylic, what’s inside the canvas and what’s outside of it, what’s popping or moving outside of the canvas and those in between spaces working between mediums,” said Sage in regards to an artist’s mixed media piece.
Each artist physically and metaphorically conveys transitions in their work with found objects, sculptures, and photographs as well as paintings. Raw emotion is intricately detailed throughout the gallery, especially physical experiences that were endured by the artist such as Brittany Ham’s pregnancy which she documented through oil paintings.
“You can see these moments that she was talking about transitioning to becoming a mother during a very tumultuous time, [during] COVID, and these ways in which she made these translations or transformations in between each one of these drawings,” said Sage in regards to Ham’s gallery wall. “Sometimes that drawing was a word or a word association, and then it became a very tight drawing or a sketch, which then became a graphite drawing, until you get to these incredible oil paintings. And so those in-between moments right where you’re slipping in between a sketch and those very formal compositions are the narratives she’s telling.”
A mobile was hung in the corner of the room closest to the exhibition panel describing the central themes of the art show in the middle of Josie Norris’ gallery of photos and canvas portraits wrapped around in crochet blankets. They were one of the artists that Sage visited when she went to search for the artists’ to be selected for the show.
“Josie’s work, I had seen in 2-D form and chose to do a studio visit, but then, when I went into their studio and saw this configuration in their space, in various places, all the stories that are going on in their family and those in between moments that they share in this very personal space, and they themselves going through various forms of transformation, even in their own family, is really told throughout this whole installation” recollected by Sage in her encounter with Josie before that night art show.
In the opposing corner, Gabi Magaly has digital photo portraits and journal entries about the heartbreak she endured and her transcendence experienced from it. Her work flowed across the walls surrounding a desk and table in the center of the art-work, which allowed visitors to write their own goodbye letter to their former lover.
“These moments of transition between finding oneself in a relationship and outside of a relationship, and re-finding and defining who you are after trauma or a really tumultuous partnership where it’s so intimate but it’s so difficult,” said Sage. “How do you come out of that? And what are those in-between moments of transition in those very personal spaces?”
Allowing the space for artists to be vulnerable with their community demonstrates the practice of empathy and connection to occur. When in doubt, support local art, and visit art shows and exhibitions showcasing underdeveloped artists. CAM has created a great practice to allow people to support one another in the stepping stone of becoming an artist here in San Antonio.
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