Exhibitions

Extensions Solo Exhibition by Monica Ikegwu

Extensions

Chukwuemeka 1 (left) and Chukwuemeka 2 (right), 2023, Oil on canvas, 48 x 36”, by Monica Ikegwu

Solo Exhibition – Monica Ikegwu
August 17 – September 28, 2024

Opening Reception
August 17th, 2:00 – 6:00 pm.

view artwork

Programming
Tea with Myrtis
Saturday, September 21st, Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm
Ticketed event – details below

Galerie Myrtis is delighted to present “Extensions,” the inaugural solo exhibition by acclaimed artist Monica Ikegwu. The opening reception will take place on Saturday, August 17, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm.

In “Extensions,” Ikegwu’s masterful execution of hyperrealist portrayals of African Americans delves into the complexities and joys of their life experiences. Her paintings reveal the duality of her subjects, exuding confidence and composure while also displaying introspection and moments of joy. Ikegwu captures the subjects’ outward personas and inner essences with fluid brushstrokes and vivid hues. Set against monochromatic backgrounds that subtly add depth and dimension to the composition. The artist’s work is both striking and profoundly insightful.

Artist’s Statement
“In the hustle of daily life, how many people do you truly see? A handful? Maybe hundreds? Each fleeting glance offers only a fragmented snapshot of who they are in that moment. In my exhibition, Extensions, I explore the dynamic nature of human demeanor, attitude, and character, seeking to capture the complexity that lies beyond a single visual impression.

Through my hyper-realistic portraits of African Americans, I ask my subjects to reveal two distinct facets of their identity, each contributing to a holistic understanding of their persona. This duality encourages us to reconsider how we define and perceive individuals. What we see is just one dimension, but as we delve deeper and truly engage with others, we uncover the multiple layers of their personalities, which often manifest subtly in their appearance.

Having access to these less visible aspects of people transforms our perception of them. It enriches our understanding and fosters a deeper connection.

Moreover, this exploration extends to the concept of interconnectedness. Our identity can be reflected in those close to us—whether it’s a child, a sibling, or a friend. These relationships act as extensions of ourselves, revealing facets of our identity that might not be immediately apparent on the surface.

My work invites you to look beyond the surface and appreciate the multifaceted nature of human identity, ultimately challenging and enriching your perception of those around you.” – Monica Ikegwu


Programing
Tea with Myrtis
Saturday, September 21st, Time: 2:00 – 4:00 pm
SOLD OUT

Biography

Monica Ikegwu (b.1998, Baltimore, Maryland) is a figurative painter. Ikegwu earned a BFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art and an MFA from the New York Academy of Art.

In presenting the notion of the Black figure that is captivating and unconventional, Ikegwu uses color, fluid lines, and textured backgrounds to compose hyperrealist imagery. The concepts for her paintings stem from her surroundings, experiences, and encounters with people in Baltimore. The subjects presented in Ikegwu’s paintings are often her friends, siblings, and other family members from whom she draws her inspiration as she watches them progress through life.

Ikegwu is among the eight African American artists featured in the 2022 Venice Biennale exhibition The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined, curated by Myrtis Bedolla of Galerie Myrtis. The exhibit explores the theme of Black life on the continuum of its imagined future presented in the Personal Structures art fair.

Ikegwu earned first place in the XL Catlin Art prize (2018), was a YoungArts Finalist (2017), a Gold medal winner in the NAACP ACT-SO National competition (2016), and a Scholastic silver medal portfolio winner (2016). Her work was exhibited at the XL Catlin Art Prize traveling exhibition and the Reginald F. Lewis Museum in 2018.

Photograph by Lia Latty

Art Fairs

Expo Chicago 2024

Booth # 405

VIP Preview Day
Thursday, April 11th | 12:00 – 9:00pm

Public Hours
Friday, April 12th | 11:00am – 7:00pm
Saturday, April 13th | 11:00am – 7:00pm
Sunday, April 14th | 11:00am – 6:00pm

Galerie Myrtis is pleased to announce our forthcoming debut at EXPO Chicago. The booth will showcase contemporary artists who explore the cultural, social, and political landscapes of our world while showcasing the beauty of humanity.

artwork | exhibition catalog

Booth Concept
Galerie Myrtis presents “Intersections of Identity,” featuring the extraordinary works of painters Monica Ikegwu, Megan Lewis and Ronald Jackson, and master printmaker Delita Martin.

The concept explores the rich tapestry of individual and collective identities, highlighting the artists’ unique perspectives and their profound contributions to the contemporary art landscape.

Presented artworks will delve into the complex intersections of race, gender, and culture, showcasing the artists’ distinct artistic approaches and their exploration of personal narratives and societal experiences. Through their respective mediums, Ikegwu, Lewis, Jackson, and Martin bring forth powerful and thought-provoking imagery that challenges traditional notions of identity and celebrates diversity.




Artworks

Exhibitions

There Within Lies the Gospel

There Within Lies the Gospel: Truth

Opening Reception
September 2, 2023
2:00 – 6:00 pm

This exhibition celebrates the rich history of black religious and spiritual traditions while also challenging the ways in which these practices continue to evolve and adapt in response to contemporary social and cultural realities.

Featured artists: Tawny Chatmon, Wesley Clark, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu,M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, and Felandus Thames.

view artwork

Programming includes a book signing for “Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021” on Saturday, September 16th from 5 – 7 pm. The event is in collaboration with the Petrucci Family Foundation (PFF). Claudia Volpe, the Director of PFF, and essayists Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe will join featured artists for the event.

Exhibition Dates
September 2 – October 21, 2023

artwork
Light in the Darkness II, 2023
Oil Paint on Canvas, 24 x 18″
by Monica Ikegwu

Art Fairs

Context Art Miami 2022











1 Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132, USA
Booth #A3

TICKETS & INFORMATION

Galerie Myrtis announces our participation in CONTEXT Art Miami featuring new works from Tawny Chatmon, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu, Megan Lewis, Delita Martin, and Felandus Thames at Booth A3.

Fair Hours
(VIP Preview) Tuesday, November 29 — 6:30pm – 10pm
Wednesday, November 30 — 11am – 7pm
Thursday, December 1 — 11am – 7pm
Friday, December 2 — 11am – 7pm
Saturday, December 3 — 11am – 7pm
Sunday, December 4 — 11am – 6pm
TICKETS & INFORMATION

Exhibitions

The Beautiful and the Damned


The Beautiful and the Damned
September 17 – November 5, 2022

ARTISTS
Lavett Ballard | Monica Ikegwu | Megan Lewis | view artwork | artist Talk

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17 – 2:00 ‐ 6:00 pm
Virtual Artist Talk: Wednesday, September 28 – 7:00 – 8:00 pm EDT.

The Beautiful and the Damned asserts beauty as imagined through the lens of three
African American women artists who challenge the historic limiting and unattainable
standards of what is desirable.

Exhibitions

The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined – PRESS

PRESS

Personal Structures, July 2022
The Beauty and Confidence of Blackness

The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined. With this installation, Galerie Myrtis seeks to provide insight into the socio-political concerns of the African-American community and celebrates black culture by paying tribute to the reliance, creativity, ingenuity, and spirituality that has historically sustained Black people, bringing it into a completely new set of Venetian landscapes. full article


Glasstire, June 2022
10 Works from the Venice Biennale that I Wish the Fort Worth Modern Would Acquire by Colette Copeland

[Tawny] Chatmon’s gold-leafed photographic portraits celebrate the beauty of black childhood. Inspired by 15th century Italian artists and artisans, as well as gold-inscribed historical relics, the artist juxtaposes the portraits onto historical landscape paintings as an act of affirmation. full article


New York Public Library, 2022
Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity: Schomburg Center Artist & Educator M. Scott Johnson Exhibits at 59th Venice Biennale

…The stone chips were flying as M. Scott Johnson, a sculptor and visual arts instructor at the Center’s Junior Scholars Program, began work on the first sculpture of his triptych, The Metamorphosis of High John the Conqueror: Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity. full article


Artlyst, April 2022
Eight Of The Best Collateral Events – 59th Venice Biennale by Lee Sharrock

Myrtis Bedolla, founding director of Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore MD, has curated a breathtaking group exhibition at the European Cultural Centre in Palazzo Bembo. Titled ‘The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined’, the exhibition groups together 8 artists who are reclaiming the inequality of white art history from the point of view of a black narrative… full article


Pigmment Magazine, 2022
Venice says “BENVENUTO to Galerie Myrtis in 2022

[Galerie Myrtis] is the first Black-owned gallery to be invited to participate in the Biennale-affiliated “Personal Structures: Time Space and existence.” The gallery was invited to the prestigious show by the European Cultural Centre-Italy. full article


Black art in America, April 2022
Galerie Myrtis: Exhibiting Black Art at The Venice Biennale by Shantay Robinson

By invitation of the European Cultural Centre-Italy, Galerie Myrtis is the first black-owned gallery to be invited to participate in the Biennale-affiliated exhibition Personal Structures: Time, Space, and Existence. This historic moment is predated by the 2020 racial reckoning the world experienced. full article


Culture Type, August, 2021
Latest News in Black Art: Guggenheim Hires Diversity Chief, Galerie Myrtis Presenting Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Kehinde Wiley Redesigns MTV Moonperson & More by Victoria L. Valentine

Galerie Myrtis Fine Art & Advisory of Baltimore, Md., was invited to participate in Personal Structures, an affiliate exhibition at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The Black-owned gallery founded by Myrtis Bedolla will present “The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined,” featuring eight artists—Tawny Chatmon, Larry Cook, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu, M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, Arvie Smith, and Felandus Thames. full article

Press

Monica Ikegwu – PRESS

PRESS

CNN, March 13, 2024
Monica Ikegwu on ‘Art is Life’ segment

During the interview conducted by correspondent Victor Blackwell, Ikegwu discussed the sense of empowerment her subjects gain through modeling and the importance of visibility. Further, the interview uplifted Monica’s forthcoming solo exhibition with Galerie Myrtis, “Extensions,” opening in the Fall. Band of Vices coordinated the CNN segment. watch segment


Christies, September, 2022
Post-War to Present… and Collaboration with Galerie Myrtis: Time, Space, Existence: Afro-futurist Visions

Among the highlights are a groundbreaking group of six artworks in collaboration with Myrtis Bedolla, Time, Space, Existence: Afro-Futurist Visions from Galerie Myrtis. Each of the six artists—Delita Martin, Larry Cook, M. Scott Johnson, Monica Ikegwu, Morel Doucet, and Tawny Chatmon full article


Culture Type, August, 2021
Latest News in Black Art: Guggenheim Hires Diversity Chief, Galerie Myrtis Presenting Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Kehinde Wiley Redesigns MTV Moonperson & More by Victoria L. Valentine

Galerie Myrtis Fine Art & Advisory of Baltimore, Md., was invited to participate in Personal Structures, an affiliate exhibition at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The Black-owned gallery founded by Myrtis Bedolla will present “The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined” featuring eight artists—Tawny Chatmon, Larry Cook, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu, M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, Arvie Smith, and Felandus Thames. full article


Exhibitions

The Afro-Futurist Manifesto Blackness Reimagined – Venice Biennial

The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined

2022 Venice Biennial Art Exhibition
April 23 – November 27, 2022
Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy


Photo by Matteo Losurdo

artwork | artists & curator | curatorial statement | artist talk | press | installation photos


In The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined, artists assert agency over narratives of Black life, offer discourse into the socio-political concerns of African Americans, and pay tribute to the resiliency, creativity, and spirituality that have historically sustained Black people.
● Curated by Myrtis Bedolla, Founding Director, Galerie Myrtis

FEATURED ARTISTS
Tawny Chatmon ● Larry Cook ● Morel Doucet ● Monica Ikegwu ● M. Scott Johnson ● Delita Martin ● Arvie Smith ● Felandus Thames

VENUE
Palazzo Bembo
Riva del Carbon # 4793
30124 Venezia, Italy


Galerie Myrtis thanks the following sponsors

Daniel F Bergsvik and Donald N. Hastler
Reginald and Aliya Browne
Ilona Sochynsky
The Tibbles Family Trust


Members of the European Cultural Centre Italy Team talk about the sixth edition of Personal Structures, how the project started years ago and its main aim and values
(Galerie Myrtis feature at 1:46)

YouTube player



Presenting the 2022 ECC Awards

Like every edition, the European Cultural Centre presents the ECC Awards to commemorate the closing of the exhibition and to honour the participants that haven taken part in it

During the Closing Event on Sunday 27th of November, 2022, ECC Italy announced the winners and special mentions of this year’s ECC Awards, which were carefully selected by the European Cultural Centre curatorial team. The winners received the unique award of the artwork “1 meter” by the Dutch artist René Rietmeyer, initiator of the project Personal Structures and of the European Cultural Centre itself. The nominees were selected for the categories of: painting and mixed media, sculpture and installation, photography, video and digital art, and university research projects and lifetime achievement.


see list of other recipients.

Artist

The Afro-Futurist Manifesto Blackness Reimagined Meet the Artist and…

Pastoral Scenes, Ralisha (detail) by Tawny Chatmon
On The Other Side Of Landscape Series #1 (detail) by Larry Cook
After All That We Still Stand When Black Lives Look Blue no.12 (detail) by Morel Doucet
We Outside (detail) by Monica Ikegwu
Tutnese Incantation, High John the Conquer & Deodate by M. Scott Johnson
Visionary (detail) by Delita Martin
Preach It (detail) by Arvie Smith
Door of the Cosmos by Falandus Thames
previous arrow
next arrow
 



Meet the Artist & Curator


Tawny Chatmon, Artist
view resume

Tawny Chatmon (b. 1979, Tokyo, Japan) is a self‐taught, award‐winning artist who has been working in the field of photography for more than 17 years. The primary theme that drives Chatmon’s practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. She is currently devoted to creating portraits that are inspired by artworks spanning various periods in Western Art with the intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under‐celebrated in this style of work.

Museum Collection:
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Microsoft Corporate Collection
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art
University of Maryland Global Campus


Larry Cook, Artist
view resume

Larry Cook (b. 1986, Laurel, Maryland) is an award-winning photographer and conceptual artist whose work spans installation, video, and photography. Cook’s work explores the cultural aesthetic of “club” photography to examine how urban culture and incarceration systems become entwined through backdrops. The backdrop is central for its relationship to the formal, social, and cultural aspects of photographic history.

Museum Collections:
Baltimore Museum of Art (promised gift)
Museum of Modern Art
Harvard Art Museums


Morel Doucet, Artist
view resume

Morel Doucet (b. 1990, Pilate, Haiti) is a Miami‐based multidisciplinary artist and arts educator that hails from Haiti. He employs ceramics, illustrations, and prints to examine the realities of climate‐gentrification, migration, and displacement within the Black diaspora communities.

Museum Collections (selected):
Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)
UK Contemporary Art Society, Plymouth Box Museum
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art




Monica Ikegwu, Artist
view resume

Monica Ikegwu (b.1998, Baltimore, Maryland) is a figurative painter. She presents her ideas of the figure in a way that is not only captivating, but also unconventional in her use of color, texture, and composition.

Museum Collection:
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African
American Art






M. Scott Johnson, Artist
view resume

M. Scott Johnson (b. 1968, Inkster, Michigan) is a New York City‐based artist and educator, has carved out a legacy as one of the most stimulating and unique artists of his generation. M. Scott has explored, both in his practice and through his 20‐year visual arts teaching residency at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem, New York, a rich vision of contemporary Afro‐aesthetics.

Museum Collections:
The Hampton University Museum
The Schomburg Center Research in Black Culture
Embassy of Oslo Norway, Arts in Embassies Program




Delita Martin, Artist
view resume

Delita Martin (b. 1972, Conroe, Texas) is a master printmaker, illustrator, and painter based in Huffman, Texas. Through the weaving of history and storytelling, Martin offers a new narrative on the power of women whose stories are not only layered in textures and techniques but also symbolism.

Museum Collections (selected):
Crystal Bridges Museum
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Minnesota Museum of American Art
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Library of Congress
The Studio Museum in Harlem
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African-American Art


Arvie Smith, Artist
view resume

Arvie Smith (b.1938, Houston, Texas) transforms the history of oppressed and stereotyped segments of the American experience into lyrical two‐dimensional master works.

Museum Collections (selected):
Delaware Museum of Art
Hallie Ford Museum of Art
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art
Portland Art Museum
Reginald F. Lewis Museum


Felandus Thames, Artist
view resume

Felandus Thames (b. 1974, Jackson, Mississippi) is a conceptual artist living and practicing in the greater New York area. Thames’ work attempts to transcend didacticisms that are typically associated with anachronistic understandings of representation and instead aligns itself with ideas around the taxonomy of human difference.

Museum Collections (selected):
Aspen Museum of Art
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art
Smith Robertson Museum
Studio Museum of Harlem


Myrtis Bedolla, Curator
about myrtis

Myrtis Bedolla is the owner and founding director of Galerie Myrtis, an emerging blue-chip gallery and art advisory specializing in twentieth and twenty-first-century American art with a focus on work created by African American artists. Bedolla possesses over 30 years of experience as a curator, gallerist, and art consultant.

Established in 2006, the mission of the gallery is to utilize the visual arts to raise awareness for artists who deserve recognition for their contributions in artistically portraying our cultural, social, historical, and political landscapes; and to recognize art movements that paved the way for freedom of artistic expression.

Artist

UTA Artist Space – Literary Muse

UTA Artist Space in collaboration with Galerie Myrtis presents
Literary Muse curated by Myrtis Bedolla

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 4, 2-5PM
UTA Artist Space
403 Foothill Rd. Beverly Hills, CA 90210

utaartistspace.com


UTA Artist Space presents Literary Muse, a new group exhibition inspired by Black literary novelists, poets, and scholars, curated by Baltimore-based Myrtis Bedolla of Galerie Myrtis. On view from September 4 through September 25, 2021, the powerful presentation brings together paintings, photographs, prints, and sculptures by twelve contemporary artists working across the United States: Lavett Ballard, Tawny Chatmon, Wesley Clark, Alfred Conteh, Larry Cook, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu, Ronald Jackson, M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, Arvie Smith, and Felandus Thames.

The incisive writings of Black scholars, poets, and authors of fiction bear the weight of a complicated history, at times celebrated and at others, bemoaned. In Literary Muse, their words are the interpretive impulse for imagery that defines the architecture of the Black ethos. The result is a visual vernacular constructed in paintings, photographs, prints, sculptures, and conceptual works composed in hair beads and wood that interrogates the inherent complexities of race.

Steeped in the writings of authors such as Ta-Nahisi Coates, bell hooks, Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, Charles Sowell, Alice Walker, and Isabel Wilkerson, these artists draw from a lexicon of Black narratives. They create visual illustrations that probe the connection between the past and present, challenge the inequalities of structural racism, honor the traditions of the Black family’s devoted fathers and mothers, encourage Black economic empowerment and selfhood, and give symbolic meaning to poetry and fiction through visual tropes that explore Black plight.

Looking for inspiration beyond the prose of philosophers, economists, theorists, psychologists, sociologists, and historians, artists turn to the lyrics of Black composers and vocalists elucidating a truth—a gospel truth—bound-up in ancestry and spirituality rooted in the polyrhythms of Africa. Here, they find their muse in rhythms first laid down in African American spirituals which influenced the gospel, jazz, R&B, hip-hop, and rap music of today. These are the sounds that permeate the artists’ studios, consciously and subconsciously inspiring works that touch the depths of our souls.

Through the confluence of literature and artistry, Literary Muse contextualizes the Black experience through a non-Western lens. The notion of Blackness, its history, ancestry, and culture are presented as written and interpreted by its people. Scholars and composers who might otherwise remain obscure are placed at the forefront, as their words influence profound works that offer critical discourse on that which affirms and defines what it means to be Black.

— Myrtis Bedolla

“Myrtis Bedolla has a sharp eye for extraordinary artists. To wield their art and animate the words of these great Black authors and poets—to bring their narratives to life visually—is a phenomenal talent,” says Arthur Lewis, UTA Fine Arts, and UTA Artist Space Creative Director.

image
Oluma x Chimdi x Anwi by Monica Ikegwu, Oil on Canvas, 36″ in x 48″ in, 2021,
Literary Muse: Beverly Daniel Tatum, Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?
Image courtesy of the artist and Galerie Myrtis