Our latest online exhibition is “Leviathan,” selected by Ethan Gill! Ethan Gill selected a big, big show. Well, okay, he chose a show with a gigantic theme. He picked works that, “depict creatures that lurk in our fears or dreams, they offer warnings or acceptance of danger, they illustrate brave continuation in the face of ultimate uncertainty.” Thank you, Ethan. View it here.
A terrific piece on collector and producer David Hoberman at the Felix Art Fair and his encounters with the work of our Marlon Mullen! Read it here.
NIAD needs your help to provide a great experience for our Win Win 8 guests. Why not pitch in for half the event… and enjoy the rest of the party on us! Assignments include set up, check in/out, art handling, clean up. Greeters, bar, and food service roles too. To sign up, please: 1) go to winwin8.givesmart.com (or just click on this) 2) select BUY TICKETS 3) scroll down to select option Volunteer – Art Champion ($0 tickets) 4) fill in your information 5) We’ll get in touch with you ASAP about volunteer assignments! Thank you!
Kristy Luck has created an exhibition that unfolds like a game of Telephone. You remember playing it, right? As she explains, “(E)ach work to follow was selected based on its relationship to what preceded.” Thank you, Kristy! You can view it here.
Doesn’t it seem like this should have happened before? The award show has happened 92 times! From The Hollywood Reporter: “The Peanut Butter Falcon star Zack Gottsagen made history as the Academy Awards’ first presenter with Down syndrome at the 2020 Oscars on Sunday. The actor, who received a standing ovation upon hitting the Dolby Theater stage, announced the nominees and winner of the live-action short film category alongside co-star Shia LaBeouf. The actor waved to the Dolby Theater audience before introducing the nominees… Read the rest here.
Composer and performer Molly Joyce chose “works in which contrast manifests itself over forms, mediums, and approaches.” It’s a wonderfully lively show. Thanks, Molly! View it here.
At a recent lunch break, NIAD artist Jean McElvane was watching a Looney Tune where Daffy Duck and Porky Pig got stuck in a hotel. This lead her to round up a selection of favorite music videos and animation about hotels and lodging. Enjoy falling into this rabbit hole!
Using selected pieces of NIAD art, Chloe offers an enlightening show focused on fair labor practices. Thank you, Chloe! View it here.
This might be my favorite show (so far) for 2020. I love Kelly’s explanation, “If this was a two person show, one person would be words and the other person would be food. Words and food. The two most important things… besides family and art of course.” I think we can all agree. Thank you, Kelly! View the exhibition.
From Disparate Minds: “Mullen’s inclusion in the Biennial is highly significant and historic, marking the first time a disabled artist working with the support of a progressive art studio has been represented. Curators Rujeko Hockley and Jane Panetta selected four paintings; typical of his oeuvre, these lush, intuitive abstractions of found art magazine imagery feel deeply earnest. Representing him at his best, they’re compositionally complex and fascinating due to their powerfully deliberate nature – paint is methodically applied without being fussy, appearing purely pragmatic or matter of fact. Among the strongest works in the exhibition, Mullen’s paintings were stand-outs… Read Read More …
Alex Stark is a painter who loves to curate and, with The Whole Body, he’s created an exceptional show. “As I begin to discuss and search for representations of disability, and bodies similar to my own,” he explains, “…the depictions of human forms emphasize connectivity and relationships, while describing and advocating for a multitude of identities.” Thank you, Alex!
Check out this terrific recent review from the East Bay Express of “Right Here, Right Now, Richmond!” We are co-presenting with the Richmond Art Center on this local group exhibition, with works from Laurel Shear (in the Annex Space) and Irene Wibawa (in the Storefront.)
With Objects in Performance, artist and studio/ gallery coordinator (at SlingShot Art) Arianna Rodriguez presents a show where the finished object could be considered to “have an inherent quality of performance.” It’s a terrific show. Thank you, Arianna!
“Depictions of the built environment are common, whether intimate, vibrant renderings of life there by Fatima Meer, who was incarcerated during South Africa’s apartheid era, or a dense cityscape devoid of humans and drawn from memory by Abdualmalik Abud, who spent almost 15 years at Guantánamo Bay. (His tranquil sketch contrasts sharply with the Guantánamo detainee Abu Zubaydah’s recently released drawings of the torture he endured in secret prisons by the C.I.A., made as legal evidence and published in The New York Times.)… Read the article.
With Some Things Last A Long Time, gallerist and curator Lisa Kehler has built a terrific show that focuses on the repetition found in some of our artists’ work. The show could also be considered a tribute to alt-rock musician Daniel Johnston (a favorite of mine). Thank you, Lisa!
“Born and raised in the Bay Area, Reid was first introduced to art-making early on in school, primarily through drawing. Reid currently attends NIAD’s studio three days a week, where she has worked across a wide range of media over the past two decades. Recurring themes for Reid are significant seasons and times of year, as well as numerous iterations of the Black Panther slogan “All Power to the People,” realized as text-based prints, drawings, and elaborate quilts. While Reid will sometimes produce functional vessels, her focus lies largely in playful ceramic depictions of exotic African mammals, wildcats, lop-eared rabbits, Read More …
Calvin Marcus’ paintings were in the same bay of this year’s Whitney Biennial as Marlon Mullen’s work. “In Los Angeles, daylight sifts into Calvin Marcus’s studio through panes of pastel-stained glass set in lancet windows. The San Francisco-born artist has lived and worked in this cavernous former synagogue turned Baptist church, constructed in 1928, since May. He found the property in 2016, by which time unknown years of neglect had led to severe structural damage. Nevertheless, “I had a vision for how it could be a great studio,” Marcus said recently, ahead of the opening of his current solo show, Read More …
From A Letter, selected by Ramsay Kolber, is both lyrical and moving. Using a poem by Swiss artist Dieter Roth as a foundation, Ramsay chose works that “offer the power and potential of personal intervention.” See for yourself!
…”While these policies may be well-intentioned, many still fail to respect people’s basic right to choose where they live and work. For example, we are seeing rules that unnecessarily restrict the number of individuals with I/DD who can live in the same building or community. There are other rules intended to defund sheltered workshops, even though many people with I/DD enjoy these jobs and have held them for a long time. States have even gone as far as to dictate the percentage of time persons with I/DD must spend outside their home and whom they can spend that time with. Read More …
View some highlights!