Media Contact:
Timothy Brown
Hillyer Director
hillyerdirector@artsandartists.org
PRESS RELEASE
Newly Selected Artists: James Brown Jr., Dawn Whitmore, and Sean Riley, February 3–February 25, 2024. The opening reception is Friday, February 2 (“First Friday”), 6 to 8 p.m
James Brown Jr.
No Justice, No Peace
No Justice, No Peace is an exhibition that bears witness to the realities of life for African people in America. This is Brown’s 85th year as an African man living in the United States. James Brown Jr. presents a body of work that encompasses the breadth and scope of his experiences, including the history of racism and segregation and the passing of civil rights legislation that outlawed discrimination based on race, color, sex, religion, and national origin. In this exhibition, Brown reflects on the vicissitudes of these dynamic developments (including the assassination of Martin Luther King, Medgar Evers, and Malcolm X and the imprisonment and assassination of members of the Black Panther Party). Brown’s experience and observation saw the Panthers as social workers who protected and addressed the various needs of the black community. They initiated a new nutritional program for moms and their babies called “The Free Breakfast for School Children Program,” which the government later adopted as the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program.
Dawn Whitmore
Human Nature
Human Nature is a video and sculpture installation that reflects on our relationship with nature. As the climate and natural world changes, our behaviors and relationships to nature are also changing.
This work is about calling out to nature in hopes of finding familiarity and reconnecting with ourselves and our environment. The installation blends a mix of humorous fairytale adventure and themes into one that is more holistically evolved, prompting us to reflect on our ability to rewrite the old myth of how we engage and inhabit the natural world.
Sean Riley
Making Mountains
Making Mountains is a collection of recent paintings that explores space through the relationships between mountains and the encompassing elements of atmosphere, water, the moon, and clouds. Made in the Turano Valley of central Italy, these pieces depict the region’s mountains with a varied and intensified color palette. The compositions consist of forms that oscillate between stability and volatility and they traverse the realms of both the pictorial and the abstract. As a result, the mountains assert their mass within the picture plane while simultaneously resisting confinement. With subtle layering of color and manipulations of the surface texture, these works invite a close reading of expansive shapes and intriguing perspectives.
Exhibition Content
Visit Hillyer’s upcoming exhibitions to learn about the featured exhibitions in January 2024.
Image Credits (Left to Right):
James Brown, Jr., DAUGHTERS of the Dust, 2013, hand-felted wool tapestry, 37 x 39.5 in; Dawn Whitmore, Human Nature, 2020; Sean Riley, Moon Over Ochre Mountain with Reflection, 2023, oil on canvas, 33.5 x 39.25 in.
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).