MORE OF YOU

October 14 - November 12,2022

From Anya Tish Gallery: "Anya Tish Gallery is pleased to present, More of You, a group exhibition featuring six international and regional artists who challenge the defining aspects contributed to classic portraiture through the manipulation of the photographic medium. While each work can be solidly defined as a portrait, these works are also complex ruminations on more abstract concepts such as identity, commodification, marginalization, ecology, and displacement. The advancement of technology and the changing nature of photography itself have allowed each artist to elevate their unconventional portraits by means of digital composite imagery, video art, and three-dimensional formats. Austin photographer Brooke DiDonato, captures the essence of surreal moments by obscuring, concealing, or quite literally, veiling her subjects in a kitsch or everyday environment. By not drawing attention to a specific facial expression in her portraits, DiDonato allows the viewer to fill in the blank space to create their own personal narrative within the aforementioned scenes. DiDonato’s intricately planned, and, at the same time, spontaneously improvised photographs, are executed in a pleasing 1950s-style color palette; these domestic scenes contain quizzical, humorous, and sometimes daunting circumstances. DiDonato has completed commissions for several prestigious clients such as: Adobe, Burberry, Coach, Gucci, The New Yorker, Penguin Books, and most recently, Apple. Featured twice on the cover of New York Times, Australian-born, New York-based, photographer, Adam Ferguson, presents two thought-provoking photographs of his series “Suicide Girls”. For this pivotal body of work, Ferguson documented 18 young Nigerian girls that were captives of the vicious African militant group “Boko Haram”. These teenagers were meant to become suicide bombers, yet against unthinkable odds, by the resourcefulness of these brilliant young women, and by the help of strangers, they survived. In dramatically composed photographs, Ferguson captured the innate fortitude and courageousness of his subjects, while maintaining their anonymity due to the present and continuous danger that still exists for the girls. There is a terrible beauty to these poignant images which remind us that even now young Nigerian girls are still to this day captured by "Boko Haram" for suicide missions. Swiss-born multi-media artist, Katja Loher returns to the gallery with her iconic floating spheres, or Videoplanets, to create an all- immersive installation. The artist invites the viewer into her imaginary world where wondrous visionary sequences are projected onto suspended spheres. Loher continues her journey to bring awareness to ecological urgencies, such as the plight of pollinators, abuses of technology, and the future of humanity, while simultaneously drawing attention to the intrinsic beauty of the life sustaining processes that support our planet. Filming from a bird’s eye view, Loher creates her videos by conceiving and then directing dance choreographies using green screen and cutting-edge technology. By adopting innovative forms of expression, Loher places the observer in a universe of strange planets where creatures, landscapes and textures interact and communicate in symphonic harmony bringing into question the individual´s role in the greater universe. While Loher proposes questions in her works, she does not offer answers - that task is left to the viewer. Austin artist, Dave McClinton, reconstructs the identity of the African American through a digital assemblage of numerous, taken and found photographs. McClinton’s large-scale digital collages are riddled with varying textures that represent different aspects of the fictional individual. The artist revisions the subjects of his photographs, imagining what they may look like in an alternate reality. McClinton’s drive to create these compelling images is to continue the sparked conversation about the African American society in contemporary times, whilst simultaneously acknowledging the grim history of this community. These powerful works attract a deeper dialogue among viewers and help visually define the history of African American culture. Düsseldorf-based artist, Maxim Wakultschik, internationally known for his highly collectable optical portraits, continues to explore his unique perspective on contemporary portraiture in cutting edge work. For this exhibition, we selected his neo pop art, photo derived portraits created out of thousands of hand-painted wooden sticks meticulously placed to form multicolor images. This dynamic work compels the viewer to an in-depth examination of the object from all angles. The artist’s exploration of fragmentation, composition, and pattern has placed him in a field of tension between painting, photography and object art. The slightest movement or the smallest alteration in perspective delivers stunning new impressions, turning the work into a kinetic object. Stephanie J. Woods is a multimedia artist from Charlotte, North Carolina, currently based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she is an Assistant Professor of Interdisciplinary Art at University of New Mexico. Woods’ body of work examines performative behavior and the cognitive effects of forced cultural assimilation, including the effects of intergenerational trauma, the politicization of afro hair and the everyday coping devices and affirmations Black people establish to survive. Her multimedia works utilize symbolic imagery and materials that reference Black American culture and her experiences growing up in the American South. Woods’ installation of A Radiant Revolution II combines photography with sweet tea dyed burlap, woven brass chains, T-shirts with affirmations about black women, dresser mirror frame, and an upholstered taffeta print."

Reception: October 14, 2022 | 5-8 pm

Reading: October 15, 2022 | 5-8 pm

Anya Tish Gallery 4411 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
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