The Shape Shifter

Tauba Auerbach’s studies on the physical form of language—from the shapes of letters to the morphing of words to the pattern of zeroes and ones in binary code—have garnered praise from The New York Times and Art in America. But when you combine that kind of art-world success with her looks—brooding waif in dark skinny jeans, with a face concealed by wisps of brown hair and a hooded sweater—you’d never suspect that the 26-year-old grew up a Marina girl. “When I was a kid, that neighborhood was full of little Italian grandmas doing their shopping,” says Auerbach, who recently moved to the Buena Vista Park area with her boyfriend, artist Keegan McHargue. “Now you can’t tell one person apart from another.” Ouch.

Auerbach has a visual-arts degree from Stanford, but—given her fascination with the alphabet—her apprenticeship with local sign-maker Damon Styer might have proven just as influential. “We would draw the letters and gold-leaf the signs by hand,” she says. “There is a very specific stroke order, and it’s been done this way for generations. It was a really good job for me in a technical regard.”

Despite upcoming shows in London and Oslo (and even though she says, “I’m over California”), Auerbach does have a soft spot in her heart for SF’s Luggage Store gallery, where she interned during college. “They’re not in this art thing for the money, but because they love it,” says Auerbach. “It’s just my style.”

WEB EXCLUSIVE: Q&A

What would you change about SF?
Burning Man Culture. It’s like these people are unhappy in their daily lives, so they feel like they have to travel to the desert and participate in a generic wackiness. I feel a little bad about speculating on why people go to Burning Man. I really have no idea. And I really have no problem with drugs or kinetic sculptures. But I do completely stand behind my disappointment with the generic wackiness at Burning Man.

Best thing about living in SF?
The slightly hippie attitude, and the fact that you can be in the redwoods in half an hour.

Who would you choose for Hot 20?
[SF artist] Keegan McHargue.

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