September 2025
Te-Mao Lee, Shelby Shadwell, and Khaleelah I. L. Harris September 6–September 28, 2025. The opening reception is Friday, September 5 (“First Friday”), 6 to 8 p.m
Te-Mao Lee
In-Between beings
In the exhibition In-Between beings, Te-Mao Lee contemplates the question of existence through a series of video works that gaze toward a future two thousand years from now. Along Taiwan’s east coast, tectonic forces have gradually uplifted ancient coastal settlements to elevated sites—prehistoric traces now suspended above sea level—revealing that ancient peoples once lived by the sea. This vertical dimension of spacetime prompts a descent 20 meters below today’s sea level, where the artist explores a yet-to-arrive mode of being through the materiality of seabed sand.
Visit the full webpage to learn more.
This exhibition is supported by the Ministry of Culture (MOC) of Taiwan and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO). Organized in partnership with International Arts and Artists.
Shelby Shadwell
EMERGENCY BLANKETS / VISCERAL
In EMERGENCY BLANKETS, Shadwell makes large scale charcoal and pastel drawings of space blankets (aka solar blankets, emergency blankets, thermal blankets, etc) which are made of a compact lightweight material used to regulate temperatures of things like spacecraft and human bodies in cold circumstances. One might see them packed in a first aid kit for camping or, more poignantly in recent years, wrapped around migrants detained in camps near the border between the US and Mexico.
In VISCERAL, Shadwell makes drawings of gut piles from game animals such as pronghorn, deer, and elk. The impetus for depicting these subjects is his interest in the ethical implications involved around the act of hunting and in the consumption of animals more generally. His aim is to be visually poetic, drawing attention to conflicts in the human condition and asking viewers to question preconceived notions on all sides of these and adjacent issues.
Artist Statement
My work consists of large-scale charcoal and pastel drawings of non-traditional imagery such as gut piles left over from big game hunts, space blankets used in emergency situations to stay warm, and pieces of black anthracite coal. The drawings may elicit feelings of disgust or revulsion and awe or ecstasy simultaneously due to the contrast between the vulgarity or ephemerality of the imagery juxtaposed with its meticulous, hyper-realistic, rendering. Among other things, my work allows viewers space to ask questions about low and high status in artistic subject matter and romantic tropes in historical and contemporary western art.
About the Artist
Shelby is currently a Professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Wyoming. Born and raised in Springfield, Missouri, Shelby received his BFA in 2003 from Washington University in St. Louis and his MFA in 2006 from Southern Illinois University Carbondale. A two-time recipient of the Visual Arts Fellowship from the Wyoming Arts Council, Shelby actively exhibits across the nation. His more recent exhibitions include the Kentler International Drawing Space in Brooklyn, NY, the Bradbury Art Museum in Jonesboro, AR, and Strata Gallery in Santa Fe, NM. For his research sabbatical from 2021–2022, Shelby accepted the Manifest Artist Residency Award, and he spent the year making new work at their Gallery and collaborating on educational opportunities at their Drawing Center in Cincinnati, OH. Shelby was recently honored with the Stone & Deguire Contemporary Art Award in the amount of $25,000 from his alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis.
Programs
ONLINE DISCUSSION
Artist Talk and Demo by Shelby Shadwell
Saturday, September 27, 1 pm
Join solo artist Shelby Shadwell for an online discussion and demonstration about the work that is featured in his exhibition EMERGENCY BLANKETS / VISCERAL. Shadwell will talk about some of the concepts behind his work and demonstrate his masterful technique of charcoal and pastel renderings.
Khaleelah I. L. Harris
Janie Flying Around
The inner workings, spiritual strivings, and transformation of Black Women Spiritualists are explored in a vision which layers alternative photography processes, the mixed media collage practice, and literary art to reveal the story of Archival Janie. She is altogether Black Women Spiritualists of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Transitioning from traditional Protestant Christianity to ancestral wisdom and a religion making practice rooted in Africana ways of knowing, the visual language of this autobiographical tale reveals a sacred transitional period. Archival Janie’s exploration of self, practice of self-actualization, and inclination for escapism leads to her lesson on the concept of volitation as a means for sustaining her vocational calling by the magical Great Blue Heron.
This body of work embodies Harris’ exploration of neohoodoo aesthetics, layering her spiritual practice, archival images, pinhole photography, deep blue hues of cyanotype, craft jewels, plants, natural fiber materials, decorative furniture, and faith themed literary art.
Artist Statement
My art practice is characterized by experimentation, sustainability, and spirituality. Alternative photography processes, mixed media collage, and sculpted textile come together to represent these characterizations, and reveal the Beauty of my own faith practice. A faith practice that requires me to remember, conjure, narrate, and make sense of chaos. This is my exploration of neohoodoo aesthetics. I returned home to Florida to develop this conceptual framework, The Women Could Fly, which is a conceptual exploration of two tales, The People Could Fly and Their Eyes Were Watching God. With the grace of the sun, I created each cyanotype print. Guided by my intuition and knowledge of plants and herbs, I gathered natural materials from the land and Atlantic shore. I spent hours in the everglades and navigated sand paths that revealed the quiet wisdom of that ecosystem. Janie’s story was complete and a new era of my art practice commenced.
About the Artist
Khaleelah I. L. Harris, (b. 96) is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice considers the principles and theories of literature, interior design, alternative photography processes, and sculpture through textile. Her work reveals The Sacred by layering literary art, decorative art, alternative photography processes, mixed media, and sculpted textile. Additionally, each piece explores concepts such as portals, interiority and domesticity, religion-making along the Black Atlantic, gender and sexuality, and afrofuturism. Harris’ practice is split between Washington, D.C., where she is based, and her home-state of Florida.
Programs
ART ALL NIGHT
September 13, 7 pm to 12 am
9:30-10:30 pm
Cyanotype and Poetry Workshop
Instructor: Khaleelah I. L. Harris
9:30–10:30 pm
Led by solo artist Khaleelah I. L. Harris, visitors will participate in a cyanotype print and poetry workshop inspired by her exhibition titled Janie Flying Around.
THIRD THURSDAY
Artist Talk with Khaleelah I. L. Harris
Thursday, September 18, 6:15 pm
As a follow up to her hands-on print and poetry workshop during “Art All Night,” Khaleelah L. Harris joins us for a more intimate conversation about her exhibition Janie Flying Around. Following her immersive hands workshop. Harris will talk about the inner workings, spiritual strivings, and transformation of Black Women Spiritualists and her exploration into neohoodoo aesthetics.
Free to the public (a suggested a donation of $10)
Image Credits:
Te-Mao Lee, In-Between beings (installation), 2025; Shelby Shadwell, EMERGENCY BLANKET 9, charcoal, pastel on polyester; Khaleelah I. L. Harris, Janie, Pray!, 2025, mixed media collage, Unryu paper, cyanotype print on Hahnemühle Rag Fine Art Paper, 16 x 20 in