#utopianimagination

@FordFoundationGallery “#RadicalLove” 2nd in a trilogy of exhibitions curated by @Jaishri.Abichandani @Natasha.Becker. The theme of #UtopianImagination, the 3 exhibitions in the gallery's inaugural year create a trajectory toward a more just future. The 1st #PerilousBodies examined #injustice through the intersecting lens of violence, race, gender, ethnicity & class. #RadicalLove responds by offering #love as the answer to a world in peril. Love defined by a commitment to the spiritual growth & interconnectedness of the individual, their community & stewardship of the planet. Guided by the powerful words of bell hooks, “Were we all seeing more images of loving human interaction, it would undoubtedly have a positive impact on our lives.” The works are grounded in ideas of devotion, abundance & beauty; here, otherness & marginality is celebrated, adorned & revered, that is deeply rooted in their love for their own communities & of humanity & demonstrate that when the world deems your existence unworthy, casting yourself as a subject is an act of radical love. Understanding the regenerative impact of this love, their work is an antidote to our collective pain. Employing everything in their arsenal, the 23 international artists created enchanting works that transform disabled, black, brown, indigenous & queer subjects into protagonists of new narratives of love & redemption, transforming the gallery into a space of visual lushness & opulence, one that envelopes the viewer in a sense of love, protection, power & unity,” says Lisa Kim, the gallery’s director. “Their work seeks to bring to life images of love, joy, pain, grace, and glory — experiences we’ve all felt at times in our own lives.” “Memorial” by La Vaughn Belle & Jeannette Ehlers honoring Mary Thomas, one of the women who led the 1878 rebellion of plantation workers in St. Croix Bradley McCallum & #JacquelineTarry’s “The Evidence of Things Not Seen,” layered portraits honoring protesters arrested during & after the January 1956 Montgomery Bus Boycotts. #artlovers #artcollectors #artcurators #artadvisory #DestineeRoss #JoakimvonDitmar #representationmatters #womeninthearts #queer #lgbt #blackness (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/ByniXbtlfIk/?igshid=3p34dsmi1t7f

#ThePrayerCatcher #UtopianImagination @saks__ #SpaceMosque (en Ford Foundation Gallery) https://www.instagram.com/p/CkKWjU4Naac/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Doubt thou the stars are fire ... @mikaelowunna “Emem” #utopianimagination #jaishriabichandani (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2mp2aMA-Dx/?igshid=upqqhantu7hz

Prepare to visit worlds ahead of our time: #UtopianImagination! The third show in @fordfoundationgallery’s inaugural year, curated by @jaishri.abichandani, features 14 diverse artists whose futuristic narratives inspire wonder, joy & hope for our existence on an increasingly imperiled planet. With the understanding that (radical) #love is the answer to the violence presented in #PerilousBodies, this exhibition recognizes the difficulties of the task ahead. Utopias are increasingly hard to imagine in a world torn asunder by conflict. Using #sciencefiction to frame this interrogation, this exhibition presents objects, bodies, vessels, fragments created by artists over time that when pieced together, offer a vision of a future that includes all of us. Images: 1. #YinkaShinibare @shonibarestudio “Cloud 9” one of Shonibare’s earliest black astronaut sculptures-part of a two-decade exploration that imagines the survival of #BlackPeople as pioneers in space. The work explores themes of colonialism, post-colonialism and black aspiration. 2. #ZakOve @zakove “Sky Lark” And #LolaFlash @flash9 “Syzygy” (self portrait) an embodiment of her ancestors’ dreams of liberation. 4. #SaksAfridi @saks__ ‘The Prayer Catcher’. “If all your prayers were answered, would it change the world, or just yours?” ~ unknown #SpaceMosque The narrative explores greed & morality at war when prayer becomes the de facto global currency. The work asks us to reflect on what it is we pray for and to what end. 5. & 6. Zak Ove “Nubian Return” 7. #JulianaHuxtable @julianahuxtable “Lil’ Marvel” (self portrait) as a #transgender #BlackWoman provoking discourse on the power of her own image & heteronormative tropes of anatomy & the politics of the human body. 8. #MikaelOwunna @mikaelowunna “Infinite Essence”. Otherworldly images, black models transformed into #cosmic #ethereal beings. 9. #FarxiyoJaamac @hausofriya “Black Girls Live in Outer Space Too” series 10. #MarikoMori @marikomori #afrofuturistic #afrofuturism #futurism #blackness #blkcreatives #blackexcellence #artlover #artcollector #artcurator #artadvisory #destineeross @desti.knee & #joakimvonditmar (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2kE8uBlsHi/?igshid=1r5b5bf9m8jva

You spin me right round, baby right round @saks__ ”Sighting # 6” #saksafridi #utopianimagination (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2iT8P1g9wq/?igshid=17oe9ee6w6gcb

Shadowfax and shadow facts @leebul_danger “Sternbau No. 5” #utopianimagination (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2iTwMIgyae/?igshid=1h6etanrzqgou

The Marvel Universe @julianahuxtable “Lil’ Marvel” #utopianimagination ... (at Ford Foundation) https://www.instagram.com/p/B2iTZqwAm2F/?igshid=jlbtz4uf2h3n

❤🎨#ArtIsAWeapon #ExhibitClosing Catch "Radical Love" at the @fordfoundationgallery before it closes this Saturday, August 17. Image: 👩🏿‍🎨 @linairisviktor, “Eleventh,” 2018, pure 24 karat gold, acrylic, ink, gouache, copolymer resin, print on matte canvas. ____________________ Ford Foundation Gallery 320 E. 43rd Street #NYC www.fordfoundation.org Reposted from @fordfoundationgallery - Celebration, reverence & revolution: Get ready for #RadicalLove! Our second show... features 23 international artists who offer love as the answer to a world in peril, honoring otherness and marginality in opulent displays of devotion, abundance, and beauty. Curated by @jaishri.abichandani and @natasha.becker as part of their #UtopianImagination exhibition trilogy, "Radical Love" responds to our acclaimed inaugural exhibition, #PerilousBodies. Show includes @vanessalgerman #ThomasLaniganSchmidt @linapuertaart @ebonygpatterson @norauls @mccallumstudio & #JacquelineTarry @thaniapetersen @jahgrey @imaniuzuri @mariaberriostudio @nepsidhu @jody_paulsen @omar_viktor @lavaughn_belle @jeannetteehlers @rosebsimpson @athipatra @faithringgold @linairisviktor @rashaadnewsome @baseerakhan #SueAustin. . . #BlackWomenArtists #BlackGirlArtGeeks🤓 #TraScapades #ArtIsAWeapon https://www.instagram.com/p/B1KAS1bFEFj/?igshid=r17brg7pz8e5