Between Spirits and Sisters – Artwork

Between Spirits and Sisters
by Delita Martin

 
Exhibition Dates: November 10, 2018 – February 2, 2019
Artist’s Talk: January 19th, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm

artwork | artist’s talk | film screening | bio | statement | resume

Artwork

Lilacs and Roots, Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 52" x 70" (unframed), 2018

Lilacs and Roots (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 52" x 70" (unframed), 2018

New Beginnings, Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 51" x 74", 2017

New Beginnings (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 51" x 74", 2017

Looking On, Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 69" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Looking On (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 69" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Looking On (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 69" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Where the Blue Begins, Acrylic, Charcoal, Callograph Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 68 5/8” x 51 ¾” (unframed), 2018

Considering Myself, Acrylic, Charcoal, Fabric, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Liquid Gold Leaf, 70" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Considering Myself (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Fabric, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Liquid Gold Leaf, 70" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Those Things Between Us Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 70.5" x 52" (unframed), 2018

Those Things Between Us (detail), Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 70.5" x 52" (unframed), 2018

My Sister's Keeper, Gelatin Printing, Acrylic, Relief, Conte, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 52" x 42" (unframed), 2017

If Spirits Danced, Gelatin Printing, Acrylic, Relief, Conte, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Stabilo Pencil, 52" x 42" (unframed), 2017

Believing In Kings, Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Liquid Gold Leaf, 71.5" x 51" (unframed), 2018

Another Kind of Blues, Acrylic, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Liquid Gold Leaf, 71.5" x 51" (unframed), 2018

The Moon and the Little Bird
Acrylic, Charcoal, Gelatin Printing, Collagraph Printing, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, Liquid Gold Leaf
102H 79W in (unframed)
2018

Sons and Saints, Acrylic, Charcoal, Relief printing, Decorative papers, Hand-stitching, 48"x 49 3/8", 2018

The Place that Binds Us Acrylic, Charcoal, Gelatin Printing, Collagraph Printing, Relief Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 71 3/8” x 48” (unframed), 2018

Witness of Light, Mixed Media Monoprint, 25 ½” x 33”, 2014

Portrait #6 (Louise), Woodcut, Collage and Hand‐stitching, 30” x 22”, 2015

Portrait #4 (Jannie), Woodcut, Collage and Hand‐stitching, 30" x 22", 2015

Blue Dress and Colored Dreams, Gelatin printing, acrylic, hand-stitching and conte, 84" x 53", 2015

Bedside Drawings #1, Reduction Relief, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-stitching, 30" x 22", 2018

Bedside Drawings #2, Reduction Relief, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-stitching, 30" x 22", 2018

Bedside Drawings #3, Reduction Relief, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-stitching, 30" x 22", 2018

Bedside Drawings #4, Reduction Relief, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-stitching, 30" x 22", 2018

Bedside Drawings #5, Reduction Relief, Charcoal, Decorative Papers, Hand-stitching, 30" x 22", 2018

Between Spirits and Sisters – Delita Martin – Biography

Between Spirits and Sisters
by Delita Martin

November 10, 2018 – February 2, 2019

artwork | artist’s talk | film screening | bio | statement | resume

Biography

Delita Martin is an artist currently based in Huffman, Texas. She received a BFA in drawing from Texas Southern University and an MFA in printmaking from Purdue University. Formerly a member of the Fine Arts faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Martin currently works as a full-time artist in her studio, Black Box Press.

Working from oral traditions, vintage and family photographs as a source of inspiration, Martin’s work explores the power of the narrative impulse. Her process of layering various printmaking, drawing, sewing collaging and painting techniques allow her to create portrait that fuse the real and the fantastic. In her work, she combines signs and symbols to create visual language. By fusing this visual language with oral storytelling, she offers other identities and other narratives for women of color.

Martin’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. Most recently, Martin’s work was included in State of the Arts: Discovering American Art Now, an exhibition that included 101 artists from around the United States. She was also included in the International Review of African American Art as one of 16 African American artists to watch, as they are gaining national and international attention in 2015.

Image courtesy of blackboxpressstudio.com

Between Spirits and Sisters – Delita Martin – Artist…

Between Spirits and Sisters
by Delita Martin

November 10, 2018 – February 2, 2019

artwork | artist’s talk | film screening | bio | statement | resume

Statement

Wherever two or three women are gathered together, there is the spirit and authority of Sande.”
-Mende belief

“-Women create Sande on the spot where they group together, sharing with one another, excluding men. This space is defined by privacy and secrecy- Women together in their womanhood, in a free exchange of words and actions among sisters -This is Sande.”
-Sylvia Ardyn Boone
Radiance From The Waters: Ideals of Feminine Beauty in Mende Art

The duality of women in this body of work project the spirit and its connection to the physical world, which reinforces the bond amongst women and how they co- exist in the physical and spiritual realms. The mask seen in the work are my interpretation of the Mende mask, specifically created for young girls being initiated into Sande. These masks are created as a reminder that human beings have a dual existence viewed as one body.

In this work, I am also exploring the different signs and symbols that help define the space the women reside in. In my previous works, the backgrounds communicated a specific sign, symbol, or icon to assist the viewer in their conversation with the work. Those signs and symbols helped define the perspective of the image. This body of work transitions the women and their place of residence into a spiritual realm, where the symbolism is less defined, the shapes are more organic, and the icons are left for the viewer to ponder and creating a space for the women to be birthed into.

Image: Where the Blue Begins, Acrylic, Charcoal, Callograph Printing, Decorative Papers, Hand-Stitching, 68 5/8” x 51 ¾” (unframed), 2018

Between Spirits and Sisters – Solo Exhibition by Delita…

Between Spirits and Sisters
by Delita Martin

 
Exhibition Dates: November 10, 2018 – February 2, 2019
Opening Reception: November 10th, 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Artist’s Talk: January 19th, from 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Film Screening: January 20th, 2:00 pm
Daughters of the Dust – Parkway Theater, Baltimore, MD

artwork | artist’s talk | film screening | bio | statement | resume

Galerie Myrtis is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of works by Delita Martin. In Between Spirits and Sisters, Martin offers mixed media works that explore womanhood inspired by the Mende belief “Wherever two or three women are gathered together, there is the spirit and authority of Sande.”

Delita Martin states, “the duality of women in this body of work project the spirit and its connection to the physical world, which reinforces the bond amongst women and how they co-exist in the physical and spiritual realms. The mask seen in the work is my interpretation of the Mende mask, specifically created for young girls being initiated into Sande. These masks are created as a reminder that human beings have a dual existence viewed as one body.”   Delita’s bio

Martin’s work is in the collections of the David Driskell Center, College Park, MD; Crystal Bridges Museum, Bentonville, AR; Minnesota Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN; Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ; U.S.
Embassy of Nouakchott, Mauritania; and William J. Clinton
Presidential Library and Museum, Little Rock, AK