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Artist Reception: Friday, September 18 from 6pm to 8pm
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A panel discussion with the artists will be held on Saturday, October 3 at 2 pm.
Honfleur Gallery – How We Lost DC
Honfleur Gallery presents a group exhibition by the artist collective Delusions of Grandeur that is a visual discourse around gentrification. Six artists present a range of perspectives engaging the cultural and physical redeveloping of a landscape;and the struggles, both personal and political, that are taking place in Washington DC and across the urban terrain of the United States.
“Washington DC proudly carried the name ‘Chocolate City’ and yet it is just a microcosm of what is happening across the country. With the displacements of Blacks and other people of color, the light shining on police violence and abuse of power (against Blacks in particular), we felt the need to analyze our position in this city and country as a whole,” remarks Artist Wesley Clark.
Delusions of Grandeur is a collective of African American artists. Members are Wesley Clark, Larry Cook, Shaunté Gates, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Amber Robles-Gordon, and Stan Squirewell. These emerging artists grapple with diverse aspects of the black experience in this exhibition.
Clark is a purveyor of urban landscapes; his work mimics artifacts and remnants of alleged archaeological finds that might surface after excavating contemporary cities long after their demise. Richmond-Edwards’ portraits capture the tenacity and resilience of black women. Squirewell and Cook use the black male body as a metaphor for the psychic, emotional, and political struggles of black men. Gates explores the subconscious by painting and collaging figures suspended in magical real conundrums. Amber Robles-Gordon, attracted to an aesthetic of excess, layers torn pieces of fabric of multiple hues to create tapestry-derived installations.
Gallery Hours:
- Wednesday – Saturday: 12pm to 7pm
Honfleur Gallery is contemporary fine art gallery that opened in 2007, located at 1241 Good Hope Road SE. For more information visit www.honfleurgallery.com.
On Saturday, September 26, the artist will hold a hands-on workshop from 12pm to 2pm.
Vivid Solutions Gallery – Chromatic Canyon
Vivid Solutions Gallery presents a solo exhibition by Maryland-based artist Elisa Berry Fonseca. In an installation of stalagmites, hoodoos, and spires made from individually cut and stacked felt, Fonseca creates a fantastical universe in Vivid Solutions Gallery.
Fonseca’s sculptures twist and writhe as they emerge from the ceiling or floor and a landscape comes alive. “My creative process is inspired by the layers and stripes of canyons as well as the stripes and colors found in textiles and the history of painting and design. I make stalagmites, hoodoos and spires out of individually cut felt, plywood, and tarpaper. The repetitive process of layering material is analogous to the way that strata of sediment build landmasses over time. When wind and water carve away at canyons, their stripes become visible. Eventually, out of this process the famous spires and hoodoos of the American west develop. My labor mimics this natural artistry. As I cut away at the material I use, slight imprecisions from one layer to the next determine the way that the form evolves in space.”
Elisa Berry Fonseca completed an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Minnesota in May 2012. She also holds a Master of Arts in Religion and Art from Yale Divinity School and a BA from Macalester College. She has exhibited her work extensively and has enjoyed a number of opportunities to give lectures about the intersection of art criticism, art history, aesthetics and theology. Elisa was a 2013 recipient of a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. Along with making and talking about art she enjoys teaching, writing, building communities and being outdoors. Currently Elisa lives in Frederick, Maryland.
Gallery Hours:
- Wednesday – Saturday: 12pm to 7pm
Vivid Solutions Gallery is located at 1231 Good Hope Road, SE. For more information visit www.vividsolutionsgallery.com.
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