CONVERGE CONVERSATION
In conjunction with the Opening Reception of for the Converge exhibition on Friday, January 27, McColl Center for Visual Art is holding “Converge Conversation” moderated by Sylvie Fortin, Editor-in-Chief of Art Papers magazine. Art Papers is a non-profit organization dedicated to the examination, development, and definition of art and culture in the world today. Its mission is to provide an independent and accessible forum for the exchange of perspectives on the role of contemporary art as a socially relevant and engaged discourse. During Friday’s unique conversation at McColl Center for Visual Art, issues of art, art history and identity will be addressed as they relate to the work of exhibiting alumni artists, Sonya Clark and Quisqueya Henriquez.
Only a limited number of seats are available and RSVP is required, if you are interested in attending, contact Edward McCray at emccray@mccollcenter.org or 704.332.5535.
More information about the panelists:
Sonya Clark explores common objects as cultural interfaces. Taking inspiration from history, hairdressing and her own ancestry, much of her work evokes issues of identity, time and heritage, particularly as it relates to the African American community. As a textile artist, Clark fuses genres of sculpture and installation into her preferred tradition. Clark is the chair of the Department of Craft/Material Studies at Virginia Commonwealth University and holds an MFA (Cranbrook Academy of Art), a BFA (Art Institute of Chicago), and a BA in psychology (Amherst College). Her work has been exhibited in over 250 museums and galleries in Europe, Africa, Asia, South America, Australia, and throughout the USA. She is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Award, a Rockefeller Foundation Residency in Italy, a Red Gate Residency in China, a Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship, a Virginia Commission for the Arts Fellowship, a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, an Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Award, a Civitella Ranieri Fellowship in Italy, and most recently as a United States Artist Fellow.
In her oeuvre, Cuban-artist Quisqueya Henriquez investigates matters of authorship and ownership in her appropriations. Through a variety of media, primarily collage and film, she merges formalities of technology and art history to offer a layered perspective of history, culture and lifestyle on an international level. Henriquez was born in Havana, Cuba and lives and works in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. After graduating from the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba, Henriquez has exhibited throughout Latin America, Europe, and the US. Her work is in important private and public collections including El Museo del Barrio, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL; Miami Art Museum; Cintas Foundation, NY; Rhode Island School of Design; and Coleccion Patricia Phelps de Cisneros, NY, among others. The September 2007 issue of ARTnews named Henriquez one of 25 art world trendsetters. Before traveling to the Miami Art Museum, Henriquez's mid-career retrospective at the Bronx Museum of the Arts garnered a review in the New York Times.
Sylvie Fortin works internationally as an independent curator, art historian and critic. She was Curator of Manif d’Art 5—the 5th Quebec City Biennale in 2010, Curator of Contemporary Art at the Ottawa Art Gallery (Ottawa, Ontario, 1996-2001), Program Coordinator at la chambre blanche (Quebec City, Quebec, 1991-1994), and a long-term collaborator with OBORO (Montreal, Quebec, 1994-2001). Her critical essays have been published in Canadian, American, and European catalogues, and her reviews have appeared in many periodicals including Art Press, C Magazine, Espace, Fuse, NKA: Journal of Contemporary African Art, and Parachute. Fortin studied Art History and Theory at the University of Toronto, Université Laval, and Duke University. She has received numerous significant grants and awards as a critic and curator, as well as for her academic research. Fortin was named Lexus Leader of the Arts in December 2007.
“Converge” is made possible with a generous grant from the Wells Fargo Foundation.