You are invited to view this gallery show, exhibiting January 15 - March 27, 2021
Austin Area Arts follows current best practices to limit the spread of COVID-19 including mask wear for all present, physical distancing and other measures as appropriate. Unable to attend in person? Select images also available on our website starting January 15th.
There will not be an opening reception for this show due to current restrictions. Closing reception TBD.
About the Artists:
Layl McDill grew up on the edge of the prairie in boom town Gillette, Wyoming. She has lived in Minneapolis since 1994. She and her husband Josh Blanc started Clay Squared to Infinity, a tile showroom and art studio/showroom in 1996. She has two adult daughters.
Early influences were Dr.Seuss and stickers. Growing up in Wyoming she didn’t see any real art beyond “Cowboy and Indian” art but during the summer between Junior and Senior year of High School she went on a family trip to the Smithsonian and was shocked and amazed by Pop Art. She was also greatly influenced by her grandmother’s collection of Indonesian and Chinese art that she brought back after living in Indonesia for many years.
She went to Casper College in Casper, Wyoming and then Columbus College of Art and Design in Columbus, Ohio where she received her degree in Illustration graduating in 1993. After art school she illustrated a few children’s books for a small publisher but decided early on that making her own art and selling it directly was a better direction for her. She fell into doing art shows and showing at art centers early on. Her work has been shown in over 15 states, at galleries, art centers, and festivals.
“I have spent my artistic career rendering versions of the world we live in into windows of wonderment. With my most recent work I hope to tingle the viewer’s imagination towards opening their mind to seeing something in a new perspective. Viewers are drawn to the magic and wonder of my work. They will be not only fascinated by the technique but presented with some thoughts about ways to look at the world we live in and given their daily dose of wonderment.”
This solo exhibition by Terresa Moses, Umbra, centers the intersectional experiences of Black womxn.* Inspired by her own experiences and the experiences of other Black womxn, Moses was compelled to create work which validates and uncovers the institutional racism and sexism perpetuated in this community everyday.
Each piece delves into six themes which Moses has identified as gaze, control, savior, (d)anger, burden, and liberation. It is her hope that all individuals come to realize their contribution to these experiences– either as a perpetrator of harm or a healer.
*Indigenous womxn and womxn of color may experience some, if not, all of the themes conceptualized in this exhibition. If this speaks to you in that way, YOUR EXPERIENCES ARE REAL. You deserve joy.
About the Artist
Terresa Moses is a proud Black queer woman dedicated to the liberation of Black and Brown people through art and design. She is an illustrator whose work focuses on race, identity, and social justice. She advocates for positive change in her community using art and design as tools of community activism. She believes the way in which we visually communicate has the ability to influence culture by drawing attention to systemically oppressive issues.
Learn more about the exhibit at umbraexhibit.com. Learn more about the designer at terresamoses.com or follow @projectnaptural and @blackbirdrevolt.
