Womanhood and femininity finds itself in every corner of life. Church pews, miniature gardens and passed-down accessories— artists Lavett Ballard, Amber Robles-Gordon and Evita Tezeno bring Black womanhood and female friendships to the canvas through their exhibition, “Solace and Sisterhood,” at the University of Maryland’s David C. Driskell Center.
Solace and Sisterhood, The Driskell Center’s fall semester exhibit, amplifies the resilience and bond of Black sisterhood through the varying perspectives of three prominent female artists.
The exhibit, which is on view until Dec. 5, aims to encompass a diverse range of relationships between women, from biological relationships to friendships. It showcases the impact sisterhood has on these relationships and examines the solace and understanding Black women in these relationships receive, according to a press release by The Driskell Center.
Solace and Sisterhood brings together the work of three artists of African descent who are friends and “sisters”: Lavett Ballard, Amber Robles-Gordon, and Evita Tezeno. Through their artwork, viewers are given an intimate look into their experiences and their sisterhood, which has developed over several years. By digging deeply into historical and contemporary perspectives on African American life, exploring traditions in the African diasporic community, or remixing commonly known objects, these artists span media and aesthetics. They tackle topics of self-identity, Black female beauty, and spiritual discovery. They resist single affiliations and simple answers to difficult questions. All the while, they maintain deep bonds that now transcend friendship. They are now sisters.
Robles-Gordon is a multidisciplinary Afro-Latina artist based out of Washington, D.C., who was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in Arlington, Virginia, and has family living in the U.S. Virgin Islands, she said. The six double-sided quilts are meant to convey her perspective of these territories while deconstructing how they are affected by foreign and domestic policies and “stimulate further dialogue regarding the long arm of the American political machine.”
Amber Robles-Gordon’s Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism, are a series of abstract textile artworks that interrogate the past and current hegemonic domestic and foreign policies within its federal district of Washington, D.C., and its other five inhabited territories. It is through these works that the viewer is granted a pathway through discursive criticism around issues impacting marginalized communities.
Who is worthy of care? Amber Robles-Gordon’s “Surely, she (he/we) is a little animal?” critically examines power, control, and societal implications. The show aims to visually demonstrate how unchecked control can lead to the mistreatment of both animals and children, emphasizing that these issues are universally connected and perpetuate a cycle of violence and abuse. The body of work, six mixed-media collages on wooden panels, also highlights the deep-rooted biases and racism that contribute to the devaluation of lives, particularly those of people of color, on a global scale.
Surely, she (he/we) is a little animal? is a chronological visual exploration of the cross generational and long term impact of imperialism and colonialism. In each of the six mixed media on wood panel works Robles-Gordon begins with the transatlantic slave trade and leads the viewer on a panoramic sweep contemplating the modern-day systems and infrastructures that continue to uplift colonialism and imperialism.
Who/what is worthy of care? Who cares for the defenseless? Who/what is defended? Incorporating the transdisciplinary study of human ecology into her practice and scope, Robles-Gordon uses the field as an anchor in her expansive investigations of race, history, the sciences and culture. The resulting new body of work rigorously explores colonialism and imperialism, global anti-blackness, child welfare and animal cruelty. Finding them all connected, just not equally, the exhibition exposes frank contradictions in American perceptions of human life, animal life and minority lives.
20 October 2023 - 30 September 2024
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo / San Juan, Puerto Rico
Luego de cuatro años de ardua labor investigativa, el Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Puerto Rico presenta su nueva exhibición “Puerto Rico Negrx”, primera muestra institucional en el país que presenta a artistas negrxs en un contexto histórico y un diálogo intergeneracional.
Al encontrarlos todos conectados, pero no por igual, Amber Robles-Gordon vincula visualmente las historias y desarrollos de los movimientos estadounidenses de protección infantil y bienestar animal con los derechos civiles y las luchas en curso por la libertad.