i am my Best Work
Exhibition Dates: july 9 - august 7, 2020
LaTonia Allen
Michael Kelly Williams
In solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the protests happening nationwide calling for social change, The Painting Center is honored to present I Am My Best Work, a group exhibition of works by BIPOC artists. The Painting Center is taking measures to ensure visitors’ safety meaning there will not be an opening night as usual. Social distancing protocols will be practiced by limiting the number of visitors in the gallery at one time. And the gallery will make available viewings of the exhibition by appointment.
The title comes from a quote by Audre Lorde, “I am my best work – a series of road maps, reports, recipes, doodles, and prayers from the front lines.” Curators Shazzi Thomas and Perri Neri are honored to showcase the visual voices of fifteen BIPOC artists. I Am My Best Work is The Painting Center’s re-opening exhibition after more three months of closure due to Covid-19.
Among the artists featured is JoAnne McFarland founder and Artistic Director of Artpoetica Project Space in Gowanus, Brooklyn who explores the intersection of words, visual art, performance, and installation. Ransome is a celebrated artist who was recently awarded a Crenson Gallery Solo Shows at the Barrett Art Center for Oct. 2020, which was a National juried show by curator Ashley James, Associate Curator, of Contemporary Art for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. Michael Kelly Williams was awarded the first Robert Blackburn Legacy Publishing Fellowship and is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant. Christina Hunt Wood examines the mundane actions of rural people that often thwart opportunity for social, economic, and environmental progress in the name of perceived tradition or patriotism.
Artists include: LaTonia Allen, Ewuresi Archer, Ondine Atwell-Hudson, Kenneth Browne, Cedric “Vise1” Douglas, Yvonne Estrada, Kyle Hackett, Frederick Hayes, Christina Hunt Wood, Nicolei Gupit, JoAnne McFarland, Rebecca Mills, Ransome, Nichole Washington and Michael Kelly Williams.
The Painting Center is taking measures to ensure visitors’ safety. Gallery staff will be wearing masks, and we require visitors to do the same. Hand sanitizer will be at the front desk as an added layer of safety, as will sanitizing the space throughout the day. Social distancing protocols will be practiced by limiting the number of visitors in the gallery at one time. I Am My Best Work will run from July 9, 2020 – August 7, 2020. To make an appointment for a gallery visit, please go to https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=19910985.
