Round Robin 3

Opening Reception and Book Launch and Signing: May 5, 3-6pm
Original Bookplates and prints on view through June 1

ROUND ROBIN is a collaborative illustration project consisting of three books undertaken by Daniela Strijleva, Katy Wu, and Jennifer C. Chang.

ROUND ROBIN and ROUND ROBIN 2 each feature a series of fifteen illustrations connected through an ‘add-on’ word game. Each artist takes a turn providing a word inspired by the one previously supplied and illustrates only words written by her counterparts. The unique combination of words demands that the artist step outside her comfort zone while allowing her the freedom of interpretation and imagination.

ROUND ROBIN 3 maintains the spontaneous spirit of the first two installments but is also a departure. Instead of each artist adding a word, each artist writes a sentence; the sentences string together to create a narrative story. Thus each illustration in the book is connected to the previous and subsequent pages in a literal sense.

The third book was written by Daniela Strijleva, Katy Wu and Jennifer C. Chang, and co-written and edited by Liz Thiers.

round-robin noun

1 [often as adj. ] a tournament in which each competitor plays in turn against every other : a round-robin competition.

2 a petition, esp. one with signatures written in a circle to conceal the order of writing.
• a letter written by several people in turn, each person adding text before passing the letter on to someone else : [as adj. ] a round-robin letter.

3 a series or sequence : an inconclusive round robin of talks in Cairo, Washington, and New York.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Daniela Strijleva
Daniela Strijleva is a Bulgarian-born, Canadian-raised artist currently working as a Character Art Director at Pixar Animation Studios. She has worked on the feature films "Toy Story 3" and the upcoming "Monsters University," as well as the shorts "Day and Night" and "La Luna."

Before moving to the United States, Daniela worked in the Canadian animation industry on 2D commercials, multiple television series, and an independent film at the National Film Board of Canada. In 2002 Daniela graduated from the Classical Animation program at Sheridan College.

Along with her career in film, Daniela cultivates an avid interest in storytelling art forms through projects like Round Robin and live-action short films. She has participated in the charitable group exhibits “Totoro Forest Project” and “Art Blocks For Ghana.”

Daniela lives in San Francisco with her husband.

Katy Wu
Katy Wu is that nerdy and artsy girl you knew in school who grew up to do exactly what she wanted to do. She interned at Pixar and then graduated from Art Center College of Design in winter 2007 before starting her career in animation. For her first job she worked on the movie “Coraline” at Laika for a few months. Eventually she returned to Pixar as a full-time employee, where she worked for two years as a Sketch Artist and met Jennifer Chang and Daniela Strijleva. Katy is currently an assistant art director at CinderBiter Animation Studios and is working on a feature film with Henry Selick. In her spare time she works on art projects like Round Robin, comics, and short films.

Jennifer C. Chang
Born and raised in Taiwan, Jennifer C. Chang moved to San Francisco in 1999 to pursue art at the Academy of Art University. Upon graduation she was hired by Pixar Animation Studios as a Sketch Artist for the film “WALL•E.” Since then she has worked on “UP,” “Toy Story 3,” and “Cars 2” and is currently hard at work on an upcoming feature animation.

She pursues her own stories at night after work; recent projects include a story in Afterworks 2, charity artwork for the Totoro Forest Project, artwork for Tr!ckster, and Round Robin - a collaborative art book with Daniela Strijleva and Katy Wu. She enjoys meeting and working with creative people from all over the world, and is grateful to do just that both at work and at home.

About Rare Device:
Rare Device is a store and gallery that features functional experiments and original ideas in art, design, craft and fabrication. Owner Giselle Gyalzen constantly seeks out objects that are beautiful, evocative, well constructed and thoughtful. We are pleased to bring to our San Francisco store an ever-growing roster of local, national and international artists and designers for a truly "rare" experience.

Rare Device (raredevice.net) is located at 600 Divisadero Street, at the corner of Hayes. Store/gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday noon to 8pm, Saturday 11am to 7pm and Sunday 11am to 6 pm.

For more information contact: Giselle Gyalzen at info@raredevice.net or 415-863-3969