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Arena for Contemporary African, African-American and Caribbean Art

Crossing Brooklyn: Deana Lawson

LawsonMother Tongue Series2014

 

 

 

Deana Lawson is one of the many artists in ‘Crossing Brooklyn’, from October 3 till January 4 2015.

Mother Tongue Series, 2014.

 

 

 

About:

Deana Lawson (American, born 1979) received an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2004 and currently lives and works in New York. Lawson refers to the subjects of her photographs as “her family.” Although she is not related to them by blood—in fact, they are nearly all strangers—the pictures are remarkably intimate. Lawson composes almost every element, often sketching scenes out on paper before working with the camera. Reflecting Western and African portraiture conventions, the works examine “the body’s ability to channel personal and social histories, drawing on the various formal and informal languages of the medium and its archival capabilities,” the artist says. The result is an alphabet of body compositions demonstrating humans’ seemingly limitless variety. The size of these photographs ensures that although they are intimate, they are also confrontational; viewers are invited into the world they depict, but strictly as spectators.

LawsonRoxie-Raquel-2010Roxie, Raquel, 2010.

About: Crossing Brooklyn: Art from Bushwick, Bed-Stuy, and beyond

Reflecting the rich creative diversity of Brooklyn, Crossing Brooklyn presents work by thirty-five Brooklyn-based artists or collectives. The exhibition and related programming take place in the galleries and on the grounds of the Museum, as well as off-site in the streets, waterways, and other public spaces of the borough.
Emphasizing artistic practices that engage with the world, the exhibition includes artists who aim to expand their focus and have an impact beyond the studio and the museum. The resulting work defies easy categorization, taking on diverse forms that include public and private action, the use of found or collected objects, and interactive and educational events, among others. Alongside the drawings, paintings, photographs, sculptures, installations, videos, and performances on view are several site-specific works.

LawsonThai2009
Thai, 2009.

While acknowledging Brooklyn’s heightened profile,Crossing Brooklyn presents a multigenerational picture that recognizes the borough’s long-established role as a creative center. Other themes explored in the exhibition include history and memory, place and geography, community, nostalgia, exchange, ephemerality, and politics, both local and remote.

lawsonOtisha2013

Otisha, 2014.

 

LawsonMcCraney-Tarell-by-Deana-LawsonTarreLL McCraney.

 

LawsonHellshireBeachTowelwithFlies2013Hellshore Beach Towel with Flies, 2013.

 

Courtesy Lawson: Rhona Hoffman Gallery New York.