Opening Reception: Friday, June 14, 7:00pm – 9:00pm
Presented at UTA Artist Space
1401 Peachtree Street NE, Atlanta, GA, 30309
(ATLANTA, GA – June 2024) – UTA Artist Space is pleased to announce the upcoming opening of We Insist Upon Ourselves in Perpetuity Throughout the Universe, a dual exhibition from the creative minds of April Bey and Kim Dacres. The exhibition brings together the two artists, bonding over three key ideas: the wonder and beauty of Black queer folks and women, the legalese fluency needed to be a successful artist in the creative industry, and a love of reading magical stories where individuals are gods unto themselves.
Bey’s work centers on the artist’s imagined alternate universe where glitter is the currency and where visitors travel via portals of flora and fauna, as well as being deeply rooted in her rigorous reading practice, love of books and obsession with Sci-Fi. She incorporates colorful faux fur, glitter, vinyl and woven textiles such as brocade and velvet–materials rich in queerness–to craft icons around the images of real-life figures from her community. Her work, which spans across multiple media such as printed textiles, synthography, weaving and elaborate stitching, reflects her background in printmaking and design and results in richly layered works rooted in the intersections of post-colonialism, Speculative Futurism, internet culture and feminism.
A bona fide bibliophile and self-described “Blerd,” Bey draws inspiration from a myriad of different sources, many of them books in the fantasy, sci-fi, and futuristic realm including comics and graphic novels. These various wells of inspiration come together to form her world, Atlantica. The origin of Atlantica comes from a formative conversation with her father who used the language of sci-fi to describe the experience of otherness and racial oppression, positioning the artist as an alien on a mission to observe and report on the conditions of Earth. They may also encounter Pineapple Afrovenuses, deities that can cut down travel time and aid in transportation at a rapid speed, leaving the traveler with pineapple scented hair and skin. Populating the library are Calathea Crotalus Cerastes, a hybrid plant which fruits the hands of Black femmes with freshly manicured nails–they too act as transportation devices that grow naturally on Atlantica. On Atlantica, librarians are the custodians of the history of the world, their job is of the utmost importance and crucial to the fundamental operations of Atlantica.
Kim Dacres’ work focuses on the multifaceted tensions inherent within Black women’s self- presentation and the reception of that presentation in our contemporary social environment, highlighting the sculptural role that hairstyles and adornments play in the daily gendered lives of Black women, girls, and queer people. Dacres underscores the power of such styles to assert the validity of one’s lived, but at times concealed, life experiences. Dacres uses rubber from recycled tires to create sculptures celebrating these influential forces in her life. Her works are acts of sculptural translation, embodying the assertive energy and presence of the people, particularly the Black women, that shape her identity-based and geographic communities – women the artist may personally know or encounter, as well as fictional characters, performers, athletes, and musicians that have forged her experience.
While drawn initially to the rubber tire material for its uniquely accessible, forgiving, and malleable nature, the artist further mines the material’s metaphorical resonances with her own personal experience and the broader cycle of injustice and oppression inflicted upon Black and Brown people in America; all in spite of the contributions these very same individuals give as teachable moments to move the world and forward. Through the alchemical transformation of object into art, Dacres infuses the discarded materials with new life and joy, one reaching far beyond its preordained purpose
This exhibition came together to celebrate the beautiful and magical presence of the people of Atlanta. We Insist Upon Ourselves in Perpetuity Throughout the Universe will be available for viewing from June 14 through July 13 at the UTA Artist Space.
ABOUT APRIL BEY
April Bey grew up in New Providence, Bahamas and now resides and works in Los Angeles as a visual artist and art educator. She is currently a tenured professor at Glendale College. Bey’s work is currently the subject of solo exhibitions at Pasadena Community College and Glendale Community College. Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at The Nevada Museum of Art, Reno NV; The Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; The California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA, among others. It has been included in group exhibitions at The Modern Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; The Southwestern Center for Contemporary Art, NC; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Portland State University, Portland, OR; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ; Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA; The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas; New Orleans African American Museum, New Orleans, LA, among others. Her work is in the public collections of California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT; Escalette Collection, Chapman University, Orange, CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Nassau, The Bahamas; Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; Fullerton College Art Gallery, Fullerton, CA, among others. She is represented by Tern Gallery in Nassau, Bahama and Vielmetter Los Angeles.
ABOUT KIM DACRES
Kim Dacres lives and works between Harlem and the Bronx, New York. She earned her MA in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages from CUNY Lehman College and BA in Political Science, Art Studio, and Africana Studies from Williams College. Dacres’s work has been exhibited around the world, including recent solo exhibitions at Charles Moffett Gallery in New York, NY (2023), Gavlak Gallery in Los Angeles, CA (2020) and Palm Beach, FL (2021), as well as group exhibitions internationally and within the U.S., including Black American Portraits at Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta, GA (2023) and Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (2021), Sounds of Blackness at The Metropolitan Museum of Manila, Philippines (2023), Godhead – Idols in Times of Crisis at Lustwarande 12th Edition, Tilburg, Netherlands (2022), Arrangements in Black at Phillips, New York, NY (2022), From a Place, Of a Place, presented by ArtNoir X regularnormal X Meatpacking District, New York, NY (2021), Through the Looking Glass, presented by UTA Artist Space, Beverly Hills, CA (2021), Dueling Consciousness, presented by Zidoun-Bossuyt, Luxembourg (2023), and Surrealism and Us: African and Caribbean Diasporic Artists since 1940 at the The Modern, Fort Worth, TX . Dacres is the recipient of the Artadia New York Award Grant (2022) and the Bronx Recognizes Its Own (BRIO) Grant in 2023. Her work is included in the public collections at Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; The Institute of Contemporary Art , Miami, FL; The Nasher Museum at Duke University, Durham, NC; and The International African American Museum, Charleston, SC. Dacres is currently collaborating with Charles Moffett and Zidoun-Bossuyt.
ABOUT UTA ARTIST SPACE AND FINE ARTS
Since the establishment of its flagship Beverly Hills location in 2018, UTA Artist Space has been committed to showcasing art by globally recognized talent. With the opening of a new Atlanta office and gallery in spring 2023, UTA Artist Space has expanded its impressive vision and reach across the United States. Over the past few years, the galleries have presented notable exhibitions with interdisciplinary artists, curators, and creatives, including The Estate of Ernie Barnes, Mandy El-Sayegh, Enrique Martínez Celaya, Essence Harden and Chloe Chiasson.
The UTA Fine Arts team functions as a link between the dynamic worlds of art, entertainment, and brands by connecting leading contemporary artists to opportunities across film, television, digital, licensing and branding. Such projects include the films of Titus Kaphar and Shirin Neshat. The team also engages with various departments across UTA to connect talent and brands to opportunities within the Fine Arts world.
Image: Kim Dacres (left) and April Bey (right), Photograph by Curtis Bryant.
PRESS CONTACTS
Monica Sheldon
Monica.Sheldon@unitedtalent.com
Anthony Cordi