Exhibition Info
EXHIBITION ON VIEW: Dec 5, 2019 – Feb 2, 2020
OPENING RECEPTION: Wed, Dec 4, 2019 from 7-9PM
CURATED BY JENNY GEROW
This exhibition is centered around several iterations of large-scale, multi-dimensional graphite drawings of waves — an allegorical exploration of how black power and bodies in protest resonate in contemporary society. Like a wave coming together in a single motion, there is strength in communal movement. DuVerney’s waves express a gathering energy; a forward momentum of an accumulating force that is released in a moment of catharsis. Through these waves, the artist depicts the inherent nature of social uprisings and of the individual’s role in mobilizing, both drawing and contributing to a force flows and resonates through multiple bodies.
A central figure in this narrative is DuVerney’s 17-year old son, Stokely Moses Amaru, pictured on the center wall and framed by the wave. His presence in the installation, with a steady yet veiled gaze, acts as an embodiment of youth, both innocent and protector. DuVerney’s installation immerses the viewer in a symbolic language powerfully wrought in graphite and, through this, in the complexities of otherness adapted from the natural and political landscape. For DuVerney, this encounter with black power becomes all enveloping, or, as the artist states, a “universal experience as necessary as water.”
Oasa DuVerney is a 2019-20 recipient of the ArtFP, an open call for Brooklyn-based visual artists to exhibit at BRIC House.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Oasa DuVerney was born in Queens, NY. Select group exhibitions include: Brooklyn Museum, Studio Museum in Harlem, BRIC, and Postmasters Gallery, all NY. She has taken part in following residencies: BRIC Workspace, Rush Philanthropic Foundation, Smack Mellon, and LMCC Workspace Residency, all NY. DuVerney along with Mildred Beltre is part of the artist collaborative, Brooklyn Hi-Art Machine.