Bmore Art

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People, food, and horticulture are among the things that move. Amber Robles-Gordon’s use of the Ficus Elastica is part of the symbology that reverberates throughout her exhibition, Successions: Traversing US Colonialism, on view at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in Washington, DC, through December 12, 2021. The Ficus Elastica—colloquially known as the rubber tree—has its roots in South Asia, though it was later nativized in the West Indies through the rubber trade. Dear reader, among your houseplants you are likely to find the genus of the rubber plant.

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“Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism” on Exhibit at American University Museum

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“USVI Spiritual, Moko Jumbie: Walk Tall and Heal Forward” Mixed Media on quilt, (back of “USVI Political”) 2021 (Courtesy of Amber Robles-Gordon)

Amber Robles-Gordon’s “Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism” has a dual purpose. It consists of her “Place of Birth and Breath” solo exhibit viewed first in her native Puerto Rico in 2020, and it has evolved into a component exhibit, which is an exploration of the historical underpinnings of U.S. Colonialism.

Robles-Gordon is a mixed media visual artist whose solo exhibit at the American University Museum opened in August and can be viewed Fridays through Sundays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. until Dec. 12.

What began as a quest, “to heal my five-year-old self: to empower her to fight for herself, her language and her culture,” the exhibition took on “the intersections of language, culture, institutional racism, anti-blackness and their immeasurable impact within the U.S. territories,” said Robles-Gordon.

A native-born Puerto Rican with family from St. Thomas, St. John, Puerto Rico, Tortola and Antigua, Robles-Gordon created a visual discussion of the historical and political plight and resilience of the District of Columbia, where she resides, and the five U.S. territories that her two-sided quilts represent. They embody the artist’s creation of a political study of the territories and on the reverse side, a spiritual and cultural study.

Robles-Gordon’s early love of art and creativity moved her delight with fabrics, quilts and found objects to the discovery that these could and would be her artistic narrative.

A writer uses words to express; my medium of expression is my art, she said. “I use a myriad of materials according to what I’m trying to convey in a particular project or a particular narrative. It’s very essential that I match up with what I’m trying to convey,” Robles-Gorden said.

The decision to dismiss her native language, Spanish, came as a result of the teasing and ridicule Robles-Gordon experienced as a five-year-old kindergartener at her school in Arlington, Virginia, far away from her birthplace of Puerto Rico. She did not look like a Latina girl that was familiar to her classmates, and hence developed the bullying of this little brown-skinned girl.

In time, Robles-Gordon realized the importance of embracing her language and her culture and the need to find ways to heal through her research and employ it through her art as the medium on her journey to healing.

Speaking of her years as an artist, Robles-Gordon’s journey toward healing is what she brings creatively in her discoveries about U.S. Colonialism, “I think that it’s a beginning. There’s not an end to my journey. It’s a part of my journey. I think I’ve done a hell of a job in starting it. I actually feel proud about it in my own life. That feels good,” she said.

Robles-Gordon made the universe know how important this part of her journey is. “I think I’ve done that,” she said.

“Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism” exhibits the component of Robles-Gordon’s body of work containing six quilts embodying the Commonwealth of the District of Columbia, and the five U.S. territories of Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa. The other component, “Place of Birth and Breath,” is the collage on canvas series created in 2020 and exhibited at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazon, (University of the Sacred Heart) in Puerto Rico.

“Place of Birth and Breath” is Robles-Gordon’s 10 mixed-media collage canvases that are a result of the visit with her mother to Puerto Rico where both women recaptured their roots, one of her childhood home, and the other of her birthplace.


“Isla del Encanto” collage, 18×24, 2020. (Courtesy of Amber Robles-Gordon)

A foundational symbology of the “Birth and Breath” body of work is the rubber tree that grows on the campus of the University of the Sacred Heart, which Robles-Gordon was introduced to while in Puerto Rico. “This tree appeared to be a literal fusion of past, present and future states of creation or sustaining an ecosystem. Throughout the series, are abstracted representations of the rubber tree – an entanglement of strong roots – as an example of its resiliency this tree most recently stood-fast to its native soil while 155 mph winds battered the campus,” Robles-Gordon noted.

Robles-Gordon shares her intricate ideas of how she layered her work depicting and interpreting the transitions of day to night and night to day. She relates to three major ethnic/racial groups – the Taino, the Spaniards and Africans, the stranglehold of the United States and the impact of the Caribbean Sea with its threat of hurricanes, scorching summer heat and lush landscapes.

Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism at American University exhibition closes on Dec. 12. The journey continues. The conversation continues. The healing continues.

See Amber Robles-Gordon’s website here..

Museums Review In the galleries: Artist’s works criss-cross the paths of U.S. colonialism

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Museums Review In the galleries: Artist’s works criss-cross the paths of U.S. colonialism

Residents of D.C. are used to seeing the place as an almost-state, much like Maryland or Wyoming, yet not quite. Amber Robles-Gordon, a longtime Washingtonian who was born in Puerto Rico, has a different take. Her American University Museum show, “Successions: Traversing U.S. Colonialism,” groups D.C. with her birthplace and four other inhabited territories: Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. She represents these disenfranchised territories on two-sided quilted banners, one face for “political” and the other for “spiritual.”

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Examining Black Existentialism through the Curatorial Lens

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Join our panelists as they journey through texts by Octavia Butler and bell Hooks, Parable of the Sower and Salvation: Black People and Love. They will explore and discuss parallels and intersections between themes posited in these seminal texts and their own individual curatorial/artistic practices.

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Weaving Identity: A Conversation on Textile Practice in the 21 st Century

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This panel explores the power of contemporary visual art through the practices of the Diaspora’s most preeminent artists who innovate through the use of textiles. The panel will also share how their works are impacted by black existential thought. Followed by Cocktails and Light Bites Vranken Pommery and Red Rooster.

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Successions video of conversation, between artist Amber Robles-Gordon and author Daniel Immerwahr

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Successions video of conversation, between artist Amber Robles-Gordon and author Daniel Immerwahr

This candid conversation featured Daniel Immerwahr, author of "How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States" and visual artist Amber Robles-Gordon. They spoke regarding the threads of intersection between his book and her current solo exhibition at the American University

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Successions: Traversing US Colonialism Listed on BmoreArt’s Picks: November 2-8

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This Week: John Oliver’s hand-picked AVAM exhibition, A Passion for Collecting: The Vision of Louis Allan Ford at Galerie Myrtis, Zoë Charlton in conversation presented by Cade Gallery, Bridget Z. Sullivan at Hamilton Gallery, Jonna McKone/Keep A-Knockin’/Noah Breuer/Solo Lab 5 opening at VisArts, Amber Robles-Gordon at the Katzen Art Center, Katie Pumphrey: Night Swim at Project 1628, The Guardians presented by the Peale at Carroll Mansion, and more … plus Maryland Art Place UNDER $500 2021 and other featured calls for entry.

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REVIEW: A deeper look into two AU Museum art exhibits

‘The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery’ and ‘Traversing US Colonialism’ bring spectators into new perspectives

By Olivia Barclay / Monday, October 25, 2021

The American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center opened in August and currently features five exhibits, all with very different themes. 

The museum features a variety of exhibits every season that open viewers up to a whole new world of art. “Reveal: The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery” and “Successions: Traversing US Colonialism” are two of the exhibits that introduce viewers to new perspectives on the world we live in today. 

“The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery” by Rebecca Kamen

“Reveal: The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery” by Rebecca Kamen uses a mixture of models and paintings. Kamen focuses on rocks, cells, cell processes and viruses in her exhibit. 

The rock models are made out of mylar and are painted with acrylic paint, making the viewer look at different types of rocks in a new way. By making these models colorful, Kamen hopes to demonstrate the importance of rocks in an interesting way. 

She also includes cell processes such as cell division in her pieces titled “Warming.” “Warming” is painted on mylar with washes of bright colors. Creating these pieces introduces viewers to the beauty of cells and how amazing the human body is in the ability to conduct such processes. 

Kamen also made several models of the coronavirus out of mylar and painted with acrylic paint. She produced these pieces to pay tribute to the losses from the virus and the relevance it has in all of our lives. She also demonstrates the complexity in the structure of the virus through the accurately placed features and bright layers of orange. Kamen encapsulates the beauty of science and the importance it has on all of our lives. “The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery” honors how far science has come in the past years and educates audiences on just how much we know about science. 

“Traversing US Colonialism” by Amber Robles-Gordon

“Traversing US Colonialism” is an exhibit created by Amber Robles-Gordon. It is a mixture of quilts and collages that detail the United States’ history of colonization. In her quilts, she depicts some of the territories the U.S. has invaded and the effects it's had on the people living in those areas.

Robles-Gordon’s quilts demonstrate how U.S. colonization has specifically affected people in those territories spiritually and politically. Each side of the seven quilts depicts these effects in order to demonstrate just how much damage was done as a result. The quilts intend to make the viewer think about the actions of their country in the past and how that is prevalent in the future. To the viewer, she wants her audience to question the effects of colonization on the people, not just the benefits of their country.

Robles-Gordon's exhibit also includes her own story in it, incorporating her birthplace of Puerto Rico. This portion of the exhibit is titled “Place of Breath and Birth,” which includes collages displayed on canvas. Here, she brings to light the debate of statehood for her birthplace as well as the effects that the pandemic had on Puerto Rico. Robles-Gordon intends to educate her audience on how U.S. territories, specifically Puerto Rico, are directly affected by the United States’ actions. Robles-Gordon highlights the lack of support that the country has given to Puerto Rico and how that has been similar for the other territories under U.S. control. Amber Robles-Gordon demonstrates how US colonialism affects the people within those territories and specifically how it affected her own country. 

The AU Museum brings to light many different perspectives on the world we live in today. “The Art of Reimagining Scientific Discovery” and “Traversing US Colonialism” will help students and residents better understand the advancements and tribulations of the nation to better engage in the environment around them.

life@theeagleonline.com

https://www.theeagleonline.com/article/2021/10/review-a-deeper-look-into-two-au-museum-art-exhibits

Gallery Talk: "Successions: Traversing US Colonialism"

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Gallery Talk: "Successions: Traversing US Colonialism"

C Artist Amber Robles-Gordon talks "Successions: Traversing US Colonialism" with curator Larry Ossei-Mensah. . "Successions" is a conceptual juxtaposition that celebrates abstraction as an art form while leveraging it as a tool to interrogate past and current US policies within its federal district (Washington, DC) and territories (including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) that it controls. . On view through December 12, 2021. Learn more and plan your visit:

https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/2021/successions.cfm

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In Shoulder the Deed, Artists Reflect on the Present and the Past

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In the exhibition Shoulder the Deed at Eckington gallery STABLE, the curators have gone back and fetched a history that strengthens the establishment not only of STABLE, but also of the Black artists living and working in D.C.

by SHANTAY ROBINSON JULY 15TH, 2021

Photography courtesy of Tony Powell.Image Description:(center) Starr Page.‘The’ James Baldwin Table, 2018.(bottom center) Amber Robles Gordon The Male, The Architect, The Protector (Outer Circle) The Universe (inner circle), 2017, The Female, The Oracle, The Nurturer, (outer circle), 2017.(left) Gail Shaw-Clemons,. Masks, 2020.(right) Aziza Gibson-Hunter, Gri Gris, for the First Wave of the Third Millennium, 2020.

Photography courtesy of Tony Powell.

Image Description:

(center) Starr Page.‘The’ James Baldwin Table, 2018.

(bottom center) Amber Robles Gordon The Male, The Architect, The Protector (Outer Circle) The Universe (inner circle), 2017, The Female, The Oracle, The Nurturer, (outer circle), 2017.

(left) Gail Shaw-Clemons,. Masks, 2020.

(right) Aziza Gibson-Hunter, Gri Gris, for the First Wave of the Third Millennium, 2020.

Originating from the Akan people of Ghana, the term Sankofa is often associated with the proverb “Se wo were fi na wosankofa a yenkyi,” meaning “it is not taboo to go back and fetch what you forgot.” The Adinkra symbol for the concept is a mythical bird flying forward with its head turned backward. In the exhibition Shoulder the Deed at Eckington gallery STABLE, the curators have gone back and fetched a history that strengthens the establishment not only of STABLE, but also of the Black artists living and working in D.C. STABLE, in collaboration with the Black Artists of D.C., presents an impressive collection of artworks steeped in rich African and African American traditions. As you enter the space, the wall to the right features photographs of some key personages such as Harlee Little and Juliette Madison, who, beginning in 1985, envisioned a space where Black photographers could commiserate and work. Shoulder the Deed is a spiritual reckoning. The artists in the exhibition, spanning several generations, come together to travel through time to bring forth conceptual and even modern works that speak to Black experience through portraiture, video art, assemblage, and more.

Before seeing the artwork, Black presence is felt and sets the tone for the exhibition. Upon entering the gallery, the sounds from Shaunté Gates’ video work “Free Breakfast Program” hauntingly quiets the mind. The repetitive loop of phrases such as “By their very presence…” and “I was always here …” over a go-go rhythm signals that we are in Black space, if the artworks had not already signaled this. The sound draws you to the work full of edited and manipulated images, displaying a history of the Black experience. The archival historical footage is juxtaposed with more recent archival footage as Black people perform traditional African dance and B-boys break.

While Gates’ work references relatively recent history using media technology, Gina Marie Lewis confronts history with an ancestral altar. “Libations for the Journey” is a mixed media work that uses images, cowrie shells, bottle corks, seashells, champagne, and door handles to offer the ancestors access and vision on a journey. A wooden box depicting a slightly open door sits in the middle of the altar as a doorway to the past, with candles inside to light the way in the darkness. This generous offering to the ancestors allows the artist to look to the past to create a path to the future spiritually. Lewis uses traditional technology to reach back in time to secure the blessings of the ancestors on a journey forward.

In keeping with the theme of looking at the past, Stan Squirewell’s “Monk Hancock (Innocent Criminal Series)” combines ancient times with the present in a portrait that is a mashup of a modern-day Black man dressed in a black winter coat manipulated with an overlay of the facade of an Egyptian statue and the bodice of a Roman one. Looking back to notable periods in history, Squirewell tells a contemporary story about the fight for survival. The portrait allows for a connection between how a contemporary Black man must fight for his life, much like those who have gone before in other treacherous times. 

Nekisha Durrett’s “Magnolias” says the names of women whose lives were lost too soon. In a light box, the names of three women are highlighted on magnolia leaves. These unarmed women were killed by police, referencing the threat unarmed Black women face in their everyday existences. The stories of these women’s deaths are all too common today, but by saying their names, Durrett remembers them and encapsulates their circumstance for others to know and remember their fates. 

The artworks in the exhibition work together; Michael Platt’s “Evening Ritual,” a painting of a nude Black woman depicted eight times and composed in a circle, alludes to the “magic” that Black women have been known to perform for centuries. The subject of the painting looks directly at the viewer from many angles as we witness her in ritual. The idea reminds viewers of the spectatorship Black people have gone through as the “other.” The defiance in the subject’s response shows she is not threatened by the gaze of the viewer. 

In several ways, the artworks speak of the present while at the same time referring to the past. From modernist tendencies to conceptual leanings, the show represents an array of works that belong in the same exhibition space but are each unique in their perspective. As a continuation of STABLE’s relationship with Black artists for almost four decades, this exhibition represents the importance of looking back to the foundation for clues on the direction to take next. Each of the artworks in Shoulder the Deed has a distinct quality that makes visitors want to see more from the artists. The artwork in this exhibition looks at the past while representing the contemporary moment, moving us into a more conscious future.

At STABLE to Sept. 30. 336 Randolph Place NE. (202) 953-9559. stablearts.org.

This story has been updated to clarify Little and Madison’s connection to STABLE.

Successions: Traversing US Colonialism @ American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center

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Amber Robles-Gordon

Curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah
August 29–December 12, 2021

DC Political, Welcome to the District of Colonialism, Front, Mixed Media on Quilt, 86 (L) in. x 90 (H) in., 2021

DC Political, Welcome to the District of Colonialism, Front, Mixed Media on Quilt, 86 (L) in. x 90 (H) in., 2021

Amber Robles-Gordon presents Successions: Traversing US Colonialism, a solo exhibition on view at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center in fall 2021. Successions is a conceptual juxtaposition that celebrates abstraction as an art form while leveraging it as a tool to interrogate past and current US policies within its federal district (Washington, DC) and territories (including Guam, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands) that it controls. By highlighting nuances related to US governance in its federal districts and territories, Robles-Gordon seeks to question who has access to resources, citizenship, and the right to sovereignty.

Robles-Gordon creates artwork imbued with a layered visual language replete with cultural signifiers and abstract gestures. Successions is a celebration of abstraction as an artistic expression. Robles-Gordon utilizes iconic artists like Robert Rauschenberg, Alma Thomas, Romare Bearden, and members of the Washington Color School as vivid reference points for her own dynamic use of color, form, and material within the works she created for the exhibition. These explorations will provide insights into a number of inquiries that undergird the construction of the exhibition. Successions creates a pathway towards discursive criticism around issues impacting marginalized communities oppressed by the United States’ hegemonic domestic and foreign policies. The exhibition features a new body of colorful abstract paintings, collages, and quilts created in 2020 and 2021 between San Juan, Puerto Rico (Robles-Gordon’s birthplace) and Washington, DC (where she currently lives).

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Robles-Gordon’s creative strategies were directly impacted as a result of sheltering in place in San Juan. The lack of access to materials and arduous circumstances she was confronted with in Puerto Rico and upon returning to Washington, DC catalyzed Robles-Gordon to improvise her approach to making works for the exhibition. Moreover, the experience heightened her awareness of how communities on the margin are adversely treated during moments of crisis.

y mi bandera vuela mas alto que la tuya, 2020. Mixed media collage on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Courtesy of the artist.

y mi bandera vuela mas alto que la tuya, 2020. Mixed media collage on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Robles-Gordon’s also uses works featured in Successions to mine the stories, personal narratives, and aesthetics of the women of the Caribbean, particularly of African descent in an effort to investigate the political, socio-economic, and environmental implications of placemaking, contemporary colonial policy, and notions of citizenship on these social groups. The debate over DC statehood, similar to Puerto Rico, has been a prevalent point of contention in the District but rarely featured in the national conversation. Robles-Gordon seeks to use her “backyard” as a metaphor that would expand our understanding of notions of freedom, liberty, and justice.

Reflexiones sobre el yo, la virgen maría y el colonialismo, (Reflections of Self, The Virgin Mary and Colonialism,) Mixed media, collage on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Courtesy of the artist.

Reflexiones sobre el yo, la virgen maría y el colonialismo, (Reflections of Self, The Virgin Mary and Colonialism,) Mixed media, collage on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Courtesy of the artist.

A fully illustrated catalog with essays by Ossei-Mensah and Noel Anderson and in-person and virtual programs will accompany the exhibition, enriching the viewer’s experience.

Click the link below for additional information and artwork included in the exhibition.

https://www.american.edu/cas/museum/2021/successions.cfm

About the Artist:

Amber Robles-Gordon is a mixed media visual artist of Puerto Rican and West Indian heritage. She is known for her commissioned temporary and permanent public art installations for numerous government agencies, institutions, universities, and art fairs.

Robles-Gordon has over twenty years of experience exhibiting and in art education, commissioned critiques, lectures, teaching, and exhibition coordination. She received a BS in business administration from Trinity University and an MFA in painting from Howard University, Washington, DC. She has exhibited nationally and internationally, including Germany, Italy, Malaysia, England, and Spain. Robles-Gordon has participated in residencies in Costa Rica, Washington, DC, and at the American Academy in Rome, Italy. Her artwork has been reviewed and featured in numerous magazines, journals, newspapers, and online publications.

Most recently, she held an online solo exhibition at Galeria de Arte, Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was featured by Tafeta Gallery in the 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London, England, and during London Art Week. In 2022, she will create a traveling exhibition in collaboration with Cultural DC and El Cuadrado Gris Galeria in Puerto Rico. 

About the Curator:

Larry Ossei-Mensah uses contemporary art as a vehicle to redefine how we see ourselves and the world around us. A Ghanaian-American curator and cultural critic, Ossei-Mensah has organized exhibitions and programs at commercial and nonprofit spaces around the globe from New York City to Rome, featuring artists including Firelei Baez, Allison Janae Hamilton, Brendan Fernades, Ebony G. Patterson, Modou Dieng, Glenn Kaino, Joiri Minaya and Stanley Whitney. Moreover, Ossei-Mensah has actively documented cultural happenings featuring the most dynamic visual artists working today, including Derrick Adams, Mickalene Thomas, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Federico Solmi, and Kehinde Wiley.

A native of The Bronx, Ossei-Mensah is also the co-founder of ARTNOIR, a 501(c)(3) and global collective of culturalists who design multimodal experiences aimed to engage this generation’s dynamic and diverse creative class. ARTNOIR endeavors to celebrate the artistry and creativity of Black and Brown artists around the world via virtual and in-person experiences. Ossei-Mensah was a contributor to the first-ever Ghanaian Pavilion for the 2019 Venice Biennial with an essay on the work of visual artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.

Ossei-Mensah is the former Susanne Feld Hilberry Senior Curator at MOCAD in Detroit and currently serves as Curator-at-Large at Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM), where he curated the New York Times heralded exhibition Let Free Ring and A Return: Liberation as Power respectively.       

Ossei-Mensah has been profiled in publications including the New York Times, Artsy, and Cultured Magazine, and was recently named to Artnet’s 2020 Innovator List. Follow him on Instagram at @larryosseimensah and Twitter at @youngglobal.