The Black Female Gaze
An Exhibition Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Richmond Art Center's Art of the African Diaspora
February 1-26, 2022
Art making requires a process of looking intently at the world and then deciding how to capture it’s reflection. What catches the eye, what centers the focus reveals much about who we are. There is bravery and vulnerability in expressing what holds our gaze and in allowing our deeper selves to be, in turn, gazed upon.
Curated as show celebrating the Richmond Art Center’s Art of the African Diaspora, “The Black Female Gaze” presents the visions of four ACCI artist members, rendered in their own chosen mediums.
Nyya Lark, Suzane Beaubrun, Xan Blood Walker and Riquelle Small invite you to share their contemplations.
Curated as show celebrating the Richmond Art Center’s Art of the African Diaspora, “The Black Female Gaze” presents the visions of four ACCI artist members, rendered in their own chosen mediums.
Nyya Lark, Suzane Beaubrun, Xan Blood Walker and Riquelle Small invite you to share their contemplations.
Don't miss the CLOSING RECEPTION!
Sat, February 26 | 4-6pm
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Suzane BeaubrunSuzane Beaubrun is an Oakland–based artist with roots on the East Coast. As a child, she was surrounded by Caribbean art and crafts collected by her parents. The art and lore of Haiti and Dominica (her parents' birthplaces) had a profound influence on her and is woven through her artwork. Her formal art education started at the Art Students League of New York where she worked as a teacher’s assistant to her mentor Martha Bloom. This adventure was followed up by a move to California, where she acquired a BFA in printmaking and painting from the San Francisco Art Institute. Somehow, this focus on working on canvas and paper morphed into a passion for creating sculptures and jewelry out of metal or found materials.
Pieces may be created from scraps collected from the streets of the Bay Area and/or from precious metals and gemstones. Suzane uses a variety of processes to explore ideas in texture, space and nature. She loves losing herself in time consuming, meditative techniques such as crochet and intricate sawing, in the hopes of creating a sense of intimacy palpable in every creation. In the mechanics of seeing, our eyes process electromagnetic waves of energy that we call light. In the action of gazing, we look with intensity, knowing what we observe is never static.
What we call “Blackness” is never static. What we define as “female” or “femme” is also in flux. |
To truly see, one must be present, engaged and have the humility to understand that regardless of how much we stare, we can only catch a glimpse. Making art is all about catching that glimpse, sparking the light, making a connection.
It is a pleasure to “spark the light” with the artists in this show. I feel like the loving energy of bell hook’s works connects us all.
It is a pleasure to “spark the light” with the artists in this show. I feel like the loving energy of bell hook’s works connects us all.
“Love is an action, never simply a feeling” – bell hooks
Nyya LarkNature and contrasting combinations are the things that feed my imagination. I have been a metalsmithing artist creating wearable art since 1983.
The passion began as an avocation while living in New York City, a city of great diversity and artistic striking contrasts. I was inspired to create, using nature and metal as a medium I discovered it to be a natural gift. I have studied various metalsmithing techniques over the course of my career in order to enhance my skills and artistic growth. The creative process involves taking the raw materials of precious metal sheet and wire and semi-precious stones and creating works that reflect contrast; soft embracing hard, finished and polished with the raw and uncut - always in balance in the final piece. The beauty of each natural element speaks to how it will be transformed into wearable art. I hope that you enjoy each of my one-of-a-kind work and will venture to see more with a visit to the gallery, upcoming shows, online via my website, or a private visit to my studio. I use natural materials, tree branches, twigs, coral, freshwater pearls, gemstones and precious metal in my jewelry. In these elements I see natural beauty, rich and varied, primitive and iconoclastic, strong and enduring. I see the origins and roots of our connectedness in the process of becoming / changing, like the contrasts and reflections in precious metal. |
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Riquelle Small
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Riquelle Small was born in Los Angeles, California, and has called the Bay Area her home for many years.
She was exposed to art early as a child and later participated in the underground art and music scenes in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York City. She works in multiple mediums: collage, jewelry, film & video, photography, painting, and poetry. While always holding a “day job,” she completed classes in art, filmmaking and literary subjects at Pasadena City College, San Francisco City College, and the New College of San Francisco. In addition to working on other projects, Riquelle runs a business called Pretty Fun Designs, where she creates and sells handmade jewelry. She considers them small sculptures that are both mischievous and humorous. Riquelle's work has been shown in Los Angeles, and local Bay Area galleries and performance venues. Living and working in these artistic and culturally rich places, along with world travel, has helped her become more open to life and have informed the direction and expression of her work. She views life as both a campus and a canvas. |
When invited to enter art in the Black Female Gaze exhibition, betrayal is what was felt. How hadn't I heard of bell hooks!
This work refers to a personal healing journey, the lack of representation, the challenges experienced and witnessed, along with the strong desire to hold an oppositional gaze in this world regardless of the circumstances.
This work refers to a personal healing journey, the lack of representation, the challenges experienced and witnessed, along with the strong desire to hold an oppositional gaze in this world regardless of the circumstances.
Xan Blood WalkerI want smiles to replace the sorrow
That you have encountered in the past And since it was strength, that attracted me to you It will take strength To make it last My, negative side will attempt to change you But please Fight that with your aura It will be your strength, that keep us both standing While others around us, fall Keep us standing, while things around us fall It's your spirit, your strong beautiful spirit That makes us both stand Black woman, it is your beauty It is your pureness, it is you, and all your love That make us both stand Black woman, you are pure, woman to me Black woman, you are pure, love to me Black woman, you are pure, joy to me —Tupac Shakur |
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Xan Blood Walker was born in Seattle Washington in the heat of the summer. She learned print photography in high school, and went on to obtain two BFA's, one in printmaking and another in painting from the University of Washington. Many years later when pursuing graduate studies in counseling she obtained a Masters certificate in Art Therapy. Prior to her higher education she attended the school of hard knocks in Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, as an homeless 80's street punk at the height of the punk rock scene. With over 20 years in recovery she finds a way to blend her varied experiences into a unique and personal style.
Check out Xan's livestream walkthrough of the exhibit, speaking about her art! Stream starts at 00:25.