Media Contact:
Timothy Brown
Hillyer Director
hillyerdirector@artsandartists.org

PRESS RELEASE

Newly Selected Artists: Roger Mokbel, Kenny Harris, and James Terrell, December 2–December 22, 2023. The opening reception is Friday, December 1 (“First Friday”), 6 to 8 p.m

Roger Mokbel
Dust in My Mouth

The Qatar America Institute for Culture’s (QAIC) IMPART Artist Grant awards a cash prize to emerging and mid-career artists to support the creation of a new body of work around a selected yearly theme. Lebanese photographer Roger Mokbel was one of the artists selected in 2022 whose work best exemplified or explored the intersection between sustainability and the arts. In the exhibition Dust in My Mouth, Roger Mokbel explores the intersection of climate change and personal loss, while emphasizing the importance of sustainability as an ecological necessity. Roger Mokbel’s work was on display at QAIC from May—August, 2023, and is showcased here in partnership with IA&A at Hillyer, a program of International Arts & Artists.

Kenny Harris
Envisivivarium

In Envisivivarium, Kenny Harris presents a menagerie of meticulously crafted paper figures designed in harsh contrast of pure white and deep black. Each figure presented in the space represents a different mythological being, demonstrating the diversity and ingenuity of human imagination through overwhelming numbers. These figures welcome the viewer, engaging the audience in a conversation of imagination and creativity. The figures’ shadows present a unique frieze of ambiguous forms, providing the audience with an opportunity to create new figures, narratives, and interactions, engaging in the creative process that has inspired humans for millennia. Each installation of Envisivivarium is unique, responding to the space, location, history, and community in which the work is installed.

James Terrell
Transcendence: Beyond the Terrestrial Plane

As humans we are more than what we see on the surface. We are more than just flesh, blood and bone. There are multiple planes of existence. There are multiple layers within our physicality and mental capacity. Within and around us are unseen but immensely felt dreamlike realms that intertwine our mind and body and guide our day-to-day existence. We are not just humans that solely exist on the planet, we also exist and are connected to the cosmos. We are simultaneously and figuratively existing within unearthly interstellar planes. In Transcendence: Beyond the Terrestrial Plane, Terrell incorporates line, shape and pattern immersed and fused together with fabric, paint and paper using the style of collage. The figures in the art seem surreal and otherworldly. The art is optically striking and must be given time to unfold in the eyes as the brain of the viewer processes what is being observed. The art of James Terrell is inspired by the stained glass windows found in churches. Terrell’s artwork incorporates the principles of vibration and movement found in op art as displayed by artists Bridget Riley and Victor Vasarely. The contrasting colors and patterns cause the artwork to vibrate. The use of contrasting colors radiates energy. Terrell also uses the color-blocking technique of color theorist Josef Albers and Johannes Itten to show how various colors and patterns respond and interact with the eye and brain of humanity when placed side-by-side within and around the subject matter of the figure.

Exhibition Content

Visit Hillyer’s upcoming exhibitions to learn about the featured exhibitions in October 2023.

Image Credits (Left to Right): 

Roger Mokbel, Dust in My Mouth, 1, 2023, digital image on fine art paper, 24 × 36 × 2 in; Kenny Harris, Envisivivarium, installation at the Ann Felton Multicultural Center, Onondaga Community College, Syracuse, NY, 2023; James Terrell, Lady Celastrina, 40in x 34in, collage, paper, fabric paint, 2022, 

International Arts and Artists at Hillyer

Founded in 2006, IA&A at Hillyer (formerly Hillyer Art Space) is the Washington-area initiative of International Arts & Artists. Through its innovative and often provocative exhibitions and public programs, IA&A at Hillyer champions local and international artists at all stages of their careers.IA&A at Hillyer collaborates with artists, cultural organizations, and embassies to develop and host creative, thought-provoking programs that push our understanding and reflect the uniqueness of DC as an international capital. Whether you live in Washington or are visiting, IA&A at Hillyer invites you to encounter contemporary art from the US and around the world in a welcoming, and intimate gallery setting.Hillyer is open Tue-Sun from 12p – 6p (5p on weekends).