Exhibitions

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual – Oletha DeVane

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

Lavett Ballard | Tawny Chatmon | Oletha DeVane | Shanequa Gay | Delita Martin | Elsa Muñoz | Renée Stout | exhibition page

Oletha DeVane

Biography | Resume

Biography
Oletha DeVane is multidisciplinary artist who explores diverse political, social identities and cultural interpretations. Her work is in permanent museum collections and she has exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Museum of the Bible in NY, Museum of the Americas, The Reginald F. Lewis Museum, and the Baltimore Museum of Art.

She has served on several boards including Maryland Art Place, School 33, Wide Angle Youth Media, and The Build Haiti Foundation. She was the Program Director for the Maryland State Arts Council’s Individual Artist (1979-92) and Visual Arts programs (1990-92).

Ms. DeVane, is currently the Director of Tuttle Gallery and the former head of visual arts at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, MD. In 2007, she was a recipient of the Rollins/ Luetkemeyer Chair for Distinguish Teaching. Ms. DeVane is also the recipient of 2017 Rubys Grant, Art Matters, a Sondheim Semi-Finalist.

Video
Oletha DeVane speaks at the 2018 Women’s History Month Convocation at Morgan State University

watch the full ceremony at on YouTube


Artist’s Short

Exhibitions

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual – Tawny Chatmon

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

Lavett Ballard | Tawny Chatmon | Oletha DeVane | Shanequa Gay | Delita Martin | Elsa Muñoz | Renée Stout | exhibition page

Tawny Chatmon

It is my belief that our memories and experiences are directly responsible for who we become. What we are exposed to, what we read, the toys we play with as children, what we view… I attribute this thought to my deep-seated desire to make sure I’m sending a clear message (with my work) and that the message I am sending is “saying something” important; because if I believe we are shaped by our memories, as an artist, I must also believe that I too play a small part in shaping and shifting the views of anyone who comes in contact with my life’s work.

The primary theme that drives my art practice is celebrating the beauty of black childhood. I am devoted to creating portraits that are loosely inspired by works painted during the 15th-19th centuries with the specific intent of bringing to the forefront faces that were often under-celebrated in this style of work.

My camera remains my primary tool of communication, while my constant exploration of diverse ways of expression moves me to add several different layers using a variety of mediums. After a portrait session is complete, I typically digitally manipulate my subjects and unite them with other photographic components to achieve a work that is a new photographic expression. Often lending to them the eyes of someone their elder and more wise and almost always exaggerating their hair and features in a somewhat rebellious celebratory way (in doing so, I unapologetically honor traits and characteristics often deemed unsightly in Western culture). Thereafter, I may superimpose antique patterns and textures, vintage botanical and wildlife illustrations or hand drawn digital illustration. If I feel I am not yet complete, after each portrait is refined and printed, I may combine paint and gilding adding ornamental elements inspired by 19th century artworks.

It is my hope that with each theme I explore and with each portrait I create, something vital is etched into the memory of the viewer.


Biography | Resume

Biography
My work and life have gone through many phases that have lead me to create the work I do today. I attribute this evolution to three major shifts: The decision to no longer pursue a career in dramatic arts, the birth of my first child and the death of my father.

Before becoming a photographer, I was a performer. My early childhood consisted of traveling from continent to continent as an “army brat”. After settling in the United States, my pre-teens to early adulthood was spent performing in plays put on by my aunts theater company, dinner theatre programs, school plays, attending acting workshops and the like. After receiving a small scholarship for dramatic arts in High School I enrolled in a dramatic arts conservatory, was cast in an off Broadway play, had been an extra in just enough films making me eligible to receive my Union card…and out of nowhere, I quit. Having no idea what to do next or how I would creatively earn a living, I turned to photography.

At 19, I was gifted my first camera. Photography was not new to me although considering it a career choice was. I floated through ages 20-24 self-teaching, exploring with various genres of photography and using my camera as a means of making a living. During this time, I also began learning Photoshop and taking on graphic and web design jobs.

Photographing children was something that never crossed my mind before becoming a mother. After the birth of my son, my life organically became about documenting his life. Ages 25-28 were almost exclusively dedicated to my joy of photographing him. This expanded to documenting these moments for family members which then lead to offering to do so for other families as well.

My first experience working in commercial photography came after being recommended by a client for a local commercial job. Afterwards, I began to seriously pursue other opportunities shooting for (or providing photographs for) YMCA, Until There’s a Cure and NEA and publications such as Vogue Bambini, Parenting Magazine & Baby Talk Magazine.

In 2010, my outlook and relationship with my camera changed when I began photographing my father’s battle with cancer. What we thought would be a testimony of his victory turned out to be my documentation of cancer taking his life. Not much felt worthy of picking up my camera for after that. With his passing, something in me died, but something else awakened. I began to stop solely looking to my camera as a means of making a living and began using it as a way to communicate my joy, my pain & my frustration.

Now 39, I look to photography less as a career or a job and more as a calling. My work is ever-changing and constantly evolving as am I. The portraits I create today are almost always inspired by my children and usually of someone that I am close to in some way (my daughters, son, God daughter, a relative, or a model that I’ve worked with in the past) and is driven by my desire contribute something important to a world that I want my children to thrive in.


Artist’s Short

 
One to Watch: Tawny Chatmon

Exhibitions

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual – Lavett Ballard

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

Lavett Ballard | Tawny Chatmon | Oletha DeVane | Shanequa Gay | Delita Martin | Elsa Muñoz | Renée Stout | exhibition page

Lavett Ballard


As a child, I would spend summers at our family farm in Virginia. This ritual of traveling from the North to the South all the while being fed the stories of how we grew to gain the property and how the “Big House” I would be staying in was built by my three times great grandmother’s sons. The house was a step back in time prior, to the flight of the Great Migration which sent masses toward opportunities in the North. Through this experience, I was drawn to the history of the log cabin that held generations of my family in a home surrounded by photographs that chronicled our history.

This experience helped to foster an interest in visual storytelling while fusing the wood that surrounded me during the summers of my youth. My strong affinity for imagery and history has led me to focus on creating a visual lexicon of the African American experience and self-identity.

I’ve spent hours compiling a photographic catalog of female and male images that cover the African diaspora over different geographic areas and historic periods. The prints are collaged, painted, destroyed and reborn to create a re-imagined visual narrative. I use reclaimed large and small aged wood fences, as a symbolic reference to how fences keep people in and out, just as racial and gender identities can act as barriers in our socially. These fences are then arranged as ‘altars’ as icons to honor the strength and determination of each subject.


Biography | Resume

Biography
Lavett Ballard is an Artist, Art historian, Curator, and Author. She hold a dual Bachelor’s in Studio Art and Art History with a minor in Museum Studies from Rutgers University, and an MFA in Studio Art from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.

Ballard’s art has been included in literary, film and theatre productions and museum, galleries, public, private institutions and exhibitions nationwide. Among other accolades I have been named by Black Art in America as one of the Top 10 Female Emerging Artists to Collect and has been nominated for the inaugural Art for Social change Pew Foundation funded Residency among other distinguished honors. Her work has been acquired by prominent collections such as the Smithsonian, the African American Museum of Philadelphia, the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, Weeksville Heritage Center, the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection and the Grant and Tamia Hill private Collections.

Ballard views her art as a re-imagined visual narrative of people of African descent. Her use of imagery reflects social issues affecting primarily Black women’s stories within a historical context. Her current body of work uses collaged photos adorned with paint, oil pastels, and metallic foils. These photos are deconstructed and layered on reclaimed large and small aged wood fences. The use of fences is a symbolic reference to how fences keep people in and out, just as racial and gender identities can do the same socially. The fusion of wood and photography offers artwork that both explores her southern roots, visually speaks volumes to continuing themes within her community.

Galerie Myrtis postpones opening for Women Heal through Rite…

Galerie Myrtis postpones opening for Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to permeate every aspect of our lives, we recognize the need to take preventative measures in order to ensure the safety of our staff, our artists, and our patrons.

So, it’s with a heavy heart that we are postponing the opening of the Women Heal through Rite and Ritual exhibition featuring the work of Lavett Ballard, Tawny Chatmon, Oletha DeVane, Shanequa Gay, Delita Martin, Elsa Munoz, and Renée Stout. Additionally, the Artist Talk will also be rescheduled. We are planning to hold these events in the future. However, because of the fluidity of the situation, no date will be announced at this time.

To honor the work of these extraordinary women, we will present a virtual tour of the show. And images and information on the artwork will be posted on the gallery website. Please follow us on social media to stay abreast of our rescheduling efforts.

Until further notice, the gallery will be opened by appointment only.

If you have any questions, please email, info@galeriemyrtis.com | Phone: 410/235-3711

artwork: Six Persimmons by Delita Martin
Acrylic, charcoal, decorative papers, hand-stitching,
relief printing, oil and acrylic on wood
51.5W x 71.5H inches
2019

Exhibitions

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual – Online Exhibition

Artists | Artwork | Videos | Exhibition Catalog

Women Heal through Rite and Ritual draws from the imaginative narratives of artists Lavett Ballard, Tawny Chatmon, Oletha DeVane, Shanequa Gay, Delita Martin, Elsa Muñoz and Renée Stout who look to non-Western traditions for inspiration in exploring a woman’s role as nurturer of family and community; and as traditional healer, conjure woman, and clairvoyant who dwells in both the physical and spiritual realms.

Delita Martin, "Black Moon"
Elsa Muñoz, "Controlled Burn 14"
Oletha DeVane, "Sanctuary"
Renée Stout, "The Time She Saw Too Much"
Shanequa Gay, "summoning"
Tawny Chatmon, "Two: The Awakening Series"
Lavett Ballard, "Healing-Rituals"
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Conveyed through visceral imagery—manifested in paintings, prints, photography, and sanctuaries are the artists’ cultural, social, spiritual, and political commentaries on the rites of womanhood, and an intimate and compelling testament to the essence of the divine feminine and self.

As giver of life, custodian of traditional African religion and customs, preserver of culture, counselor, and psychologist, and at times, the conduit between two worlds, Women Heal through Rite and Ritual celebrates and reclaims a woman’s power and place in the natural and supernatural worlds.


As the COVID-19 (coronavirus) continues to permeate every aspect of our lives, we recognize the need to take preventative measures in order to ensure the safety of our staff, our artists, and our patrons. While the gallery remains closed, we offer an online version of our current exhibition Women Heal through Rite and Ritual. We are planning to hold the opening reception and artist talk in the future. However, because of the fluidity of the situation, no date will be announced at this time. Until then enjoy the online exhibition!

Exhibitions

Tawny Chatmon Exhibit at Fotografiska

Tawny Chatmon Exhibits at Fotografiska, New York, NY

December 14, 2019 – March 22, 2020

Tawny Chatmon

Inheritance

”Our children inherit what we don’t resolve” anonymous

Inheritance, by Tawny Chatmon (American, b. 1979), invites the viewer to look beyond the decorated and nuanced portraits to examine issues of race and the historical positioning of African American portraiture in the absence of subjugation of the “black body” in Western art.

Chatmon, a mother of three black children, draws from her life experiences and belief that children inherit our memories, beliefs, traditions, and the world that we leave behind. Through her photographs, she conveys a message to her children, and to all black children, that they are precious, valued, and loved.

While the camera is her primary tool of communication, Chatmon takes a multi-layered approach in producing her photographs—her process does not subscribe to conventional photography. The photographs are often manipulated and hand-embellished with acrylic paint and 24-karat gold leaf, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s (1862-1918) “Golden Phase.” The use of gold and ornamentation in Klimt’s work evokes feelings of grace, magnificence, and beauty within Chatmon and has remained in the artist’s consciousness. These are the emotions Chatmon seeks to convey to those viewing her photographs. Her portraits are staged vignettes with models, who at times are her own children, wearing elegant garments. Chatmon experiments with various art practices and does not restrict herself to follow any set of rules, allowing her to create instinctually and fluidly. The result is a beautiful and powerful iconography that speaks to “the disparities that continue to affect black people around the world.”

This exhibition presents three bodies of work: The Awakening, Byzantine Contempo, and The Redemption. In these series, Chatmon celebrates the beauty of black childhood, African American culture, and the delicate intricacies of protecting and raising a black child in today’s world. Each series is a conversation on love, nurturing, and the familial bond; a commentary on the politics of blackness; the historical portrayal of the black body; and an investigation of Renaissance and Byzantine portraiture. In combating the negative stereotyping associated with natural hairstyles and adornments that are distinctively likened to black people and culture, Chatmon glorifies various styles: afros, locs, twists, and barbershop cuts revered in black communities. Embedded within the works are messages of embracing one’s beauty and cultural pride.

Text by Myrtis Bedolla. Edited by Grace Noh and Amanda Hajjar.

Inheritance is organized by Fotografiska, in collaboration with the artist and Galerie Myrtis.

Fotografiska
281 Park Ave South
New York, NY 10010 United States

about the exhibition | press | about Tawny

Exhibitions

Tawny Chatmon Exhibits at Fotografiska

Tawny Chatmon Exhibits at Fotografiska, New York, NY

December 14, 2019 – March 22, 2020

Tawny Chatmon

Inheritance

”Our children inherit what we don’t resolve” anonymous

Inheritance, by Tawny Chatmon (American, b. 1979), invites the viewer to look beyond the decorated and nuanced portraits to examine issues of race and the historical positioning of African American portraiture in the absence of subjugation of the “black body” in Western art.

Chatmon, a mother of three black children, draws from her life experiences and belief that children inherit our memories, beliefs, traditions, and the world that we leave behind. Through her photographs, she conveys a message to her children, and to all black children, that they are precious, valued, and loved.

While the camera is her primary tool of communication, Chatmon takes a multi-layered approach in producing her photographs—her process does not subscribe to conventional photography. The photographs are often manipulated and hand-embellished with acrylic paint and 24-karat gold leaf, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s (1862-1918) “Golden Phase.” The use of gold and ornamentation in Klimt’s work evokes feelings of grace, magnificence, and beauty within Chatmon and has remained in the artist’s consciousness. These are the emotions Chatmon seeks to convey to those viewing her photographs. Her portraits are staged vignettes with models, who at times are her own children, wearing elegant garments. Chatmon experiments with various art practices and does not restrict herself to follow any set of rules, allowing her to create instinctually and fluidly. The result is a beautiful and powerful iconography that speaks to “the disparities that continue to affect black people around the world.”

This exhibition presents three bodies of work: The Awakening, Byzantine Contempo, and The Redemption. In these series, Chatmon celebrates the beauty of black childhood, African American culture, and the delicate intricacies of protecting and raising a black child in today’s world. Each series is a conversation on love, nurturing, and the familial bond; a commentary on the politics of blackness; the historical portrayal of the black body; and an investigation of Renaissance and Byzantine portraiture. In combating the negative stereotyping associated with natural hairstyles and adornments that are distinctively likened to black people and culture, Chatmon glorifies various styles: afros, locs, twists, and barbershop cuts revered in black communities. Embedded within the works are messages of embracing one’s beauty and cultural pride.

Text by Myrtis Bedolla. Edited by Grace Noh and Amanda Hajjar.

Inheritance is organized by Fotografiska, in collaboration with the artist and Galerie Myrtis.

Fotografiska
281 Park Ave South
New York, NY 10010 United States

about the exhibition | press | about Tawny

Tawny Chatmon Exhibits at Fotografiska, New York, NY

Tawny Chatmon

Inheritance

”Our children inherit what we don’t resolve” anonymous

Inheritance, by Tawny Chatmon (American, b. 1979), invites the viewer to look beyond the decorated and nuanced portraits to examine issues of race and the historical positioning of African American portraiture in the absence of subjugation of the “black body” in Western art.

Chatmon, a mother of three black children, draws from her life experiences and belief that children inherit our memories, beliefs, traditions, and the world that we leave behind. Through her photographs, she conveys a message to her children, and to all black children, that they are precious, valued, and loved.

While the camera is her primary tool of communication, Chatmon takes a multi-layered approach in producing her photographs—her process does not subscribe to conventional photography. The photographs are often manipulated and hand-embellished with acrylic paint and 24-karat gold leaf, inspired by Gustav Klimt’s (1862-1918) “Golden Phase.” The use of gold and ornamentation in Klimt’s work evokes feelings of grace, magnificence, and beauty within Chatmon and has remained in the artist’s consciousness. These are the emotions Chatmon seeks to convey to those viewing her photographs. Her portraits are staged vignettes with models, who at times are her own children, wearing elegant garments. Chatmon experiments with various art practices and does not restrict herself to follow any set of rules, allowing her to create instinctually and fluidly. The result is a beautiful and powerful iconography that speaks to “the disparities that continue to affect black people around the world.”

This exhibition presents three bodies of work: The Awakening, Byzantine Contempo, and The Redemption. In these series, Chatmon celebrates the beauty of black childhood, African American culture, and the delicate intricacies of protecting and raising a black child in today’s world. Each series is a conversation on love, nurturing, and the familial bond; a commentary on the politics of blackness; the historical portrayal of the black body; and an investigation of Renaissance and Byzantine portraiture. In combating the negative stereotyping associated with natural hairstyles and adornments that are distinctively likened to black people and culture, Chatmon glorifies various styles: afros, locs, twists, and barbershop cuts revered in black communities. Embedded within the works are messages of embracing one’s beauty and cultural pride.

Text by Myrtis Bedolla. Edited by Grace Noh and Amanda Hajjar.

Inheritance is organized by Fotografiska, in collaboration with the artist and Galerie Myrtis.


PRESS

FastCompany, February 2020
Fotografiska New York is a photo museum for the Instagram era (video features Tawny Chatmon at 2:10)

Fotografiska New York is now open in the historic Church Missions House in Manhattan. The photo museum for the modern world emphasizes experience—it’s open late and guests can stay for a glass of wine—while enjoying more current work than is available in traditional museums. full article


Architectural Digest, December 2019
Fotografiska Makes Its New York Debut in a Historic Landmark Building [featuring Tawny Chatmon] by Liddy Berman

…Self-taught talent Tawny Chatmon’s dreamy, intimate portraits of children of color, woven through with elements of digital collage, gold leaf, and painting, shine with Klimt-ian beauty. full article


ARTSY, September 2019
6 Photographers Making Powerful Work about Childhood by Jacqui Palumbo

…For her series “The Awakening” (2018–present), she and her stylist Isabelle Philogene look to the long garments and rich fabrics of Victorian artist Marianne Stokes. full article


Bella Magazine, 2019
An Art Aficionado’s Haven: Fotografiska New York Debuts In The Flatiron District by Rose Aljure

Now set to open in the Flatiron District, Fotografiska New York, announced today its expanded inaugural season. The exhibition space will open on October 18th, 2019 with solo presentations of photography by Ellen von Unwerth, Tawny Chatmon. full article


Gotham ToGo, September 2019 Issue
Fotografiska New York Opening Exhibitions by Fotografiska New York, Photography

…organized in collaboration with Galerie Myrtis, will include works from the series The Awakening, Byzantine Contempo, and from the recently completed series called The Redemption. Tawny Chatmon will be on view from October 18 to November 17, 2019… full article


FORBES August 2019
From Ellen Von Unwerth’s Bathing Supermodels To Lars Tunbjörk’s Everyday Absurdity, Fotografiska Sets Its Gaze On New York by Natasha Gural, Contributor

The diverse inaugural exhibition will include: Tawny Chatmon, a self-taught artist who combines paint, digital collage, illustration, and gold leaf… full article


Omenka Online, July 2019
Tawny Chatmon on Rcclaiming Black Identity by Oliver Enwonwu & Oyindamola Olaniyan

In this ninth part of our continuing series on artists in the diaspora who promote Black identity and pride through their work, we present African American artist Tawny Chatmon. full article


New York City Guide August 2019
Fotografiska New York Set for Fall Opening in Flatiron with Unwerth, Chatmon by Merrill Lee Girardeau

The inaugural exhibition schedule at Fotografiska New York will feature the photographers Ellen von Unwerth, Tawny Chatmon, Helene Schmitz, and Adi Nes. full article


Professional Photographer Magazine, April 2019 Issue
TAWNY CHATMON FINDS FULFILLMENT IN DRIVING CULTURAL CHANGE by Robert Kiener

“My heart wasn’t in it anymore.” That’s how Tawny Chatmon remembers feeling about her commercial photography career after her father died. Sitting in her spacious studio, the basement of her Upper Marlboro, Maryland, home, she chokes back a tear as she remembers the self-selected assignment that changed her life.. full article


Exhibitions

Blackface Artwork

Blackface: A Reclamation of Beauty, Power and Narrative

April 20 – June 15, 2019

about the exhibition | exhibition essay

Featured artists: Tawny Chatmon, Alfred Conteh, Jerrell Gibbs, Karina Griffith, Jas Knight, Arvie Smith and Felandus Thames.
Exhibition essay by Halima Taha. Curated by Myrtis Bedolla and Jessica Stafford Davis

Artwork

Exhibitions

Building Bridges II The Politics of Love – Identity…

Building Bridges II: The Politics of Love, Identity and Race

13th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
April 12 – May 12, 2019

Galeria Carmen Montilla – photo by Chris Bedolla

Location
Galeria Carmen Montilla
Norma Jimenez Iradiz, Directora
Calle de los Oficios No. 162, Old Havana
Opening Reception: April 13, 2019, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Curators Myrtis Bedolla and Ana Joa reunite for the second iteration of Building Bridges II: The Politics of Love, Identity, and Race. In bridging peoples, politics, and cultures, the exhibition investigates the dogma of love, gender politics, and prevailing assumptions about identity and race. We thank Eusebio Leal Spengler, Old Havana Restoration Project for his support.

Los curadores Myrtis Bedolla y Ana Joa se reúnen para la segunda versión de Haciendo Puentes II: La Política del Amor, la Identidad y la Raza. Al unir a los pueblos, la política y las culturas, la exposición investiga el dogma del amor, la política de género y los supuestos prevalentes sobre la identidad y la raza. Agradecemos a Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana Vieja Restauracion Proyecto por su apoyo.

American Artists: Tawny Chatmon, Wesley Clark, Larry Cook, Alfred Conteh, Anna U. Davis, Morel Doucet, Vance Gragg, Susan Goldman, Michael Gross, Ronald Jackson, M. Scott Johnson, and Delita Martin.

Cuban Artists: Julia Valdés Borrero, Luis Jorge Joa, Daylene Rodriquez Moreno, Caridad Ramos Mosquera, Zaida del Rio, Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco), Alicia Leal Veloz, and Jorge Jacas Vivanco.


Artwork


Photos