Bill Lowe Gallery

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Shanequa Gay’s (b.1977; Atlanta, GA) work draws upon ritual, personal memory, storytelling, fantasy, and the deep well of southern black traditions found in her home city of Atlanta. Gay’s fodder is play, indigenous belief systems, and the spirit of African-Ascendant Womyn and girls finding Divinity in self. She is invested in counter-narratives, mythology, and the expansion of the black imaginary. Gay engages in this practice through installations, paintings, performances, photography, video, and monumental sculptural figures.

Shanequa Gay’s work, ‘get that doe…’ extends beyond the bounds of its panel in a flurry of bodies and deer eager to outrun the adversarial hunters.

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience Gay’s installation in our current exhibition ‘The Alchemists’ closing tomorrow, April 29.

Please follow Johnson Lowe Gallery for updates on our gallery programming.

Masud Olufani (b.1969; Los Angeles, CA) explores the resonance of memory, the narrative traditions of African and African-American folklore, and the methodologies of constructive resilience implemented by marginalized communities to maintain cohesion and ensure survival in his practice.

“The pounding of millet and rice is an ancient practice among many African cultures. Almost exclusively carried out by women, the repetitive movement plays an essential role in the survival of the community as an indispensable component of food production. Using a pestle and a mortar, grain is progressively ground down by one or several women delivering coordinated strikes that together, result in a tonal syncopation that mimics the pulsing rhythms of the drum. This quotidian yet consequential practice draws connections between the physical and the spiritual forces that help to shape the African diasporic worldview. The pounding of grain feeds the community, while the drum-like rhythms serve as a mediator between the world of the living and the spirit world. The realities are interwoven, the one communicating with and influencing the other.”

Witness Olufani’s work ‘Rhythm Section’ in The Alchemists through April 29 at Johnson Lowe Gallery.

Headshot courtesy of Masud Olufani

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Mark Bradford (b.1961; Los Angeles, CA) is a contemporary artist best known for his large-scale abstract paintings created out of paper. Characterized by its layered formal, material, and conceptual complexity, Bradford’s work explores social and political structures that objectify marginalized communities and the bodies of vulnerable populations.

Using everyday materials and tools from the aisles of the hardware store, Bradford has created a unique artistic language. Referred to frequently as ‘social abstraction,’ Bradford’s work is rooted in his understanding that all materials and techniques are embedded with meaning that precedes their artistic utility. His signature style developed out of his early experimentation with end papers, the small, translucent tissue papers used in hairdressing; he has since experimented with other types of paper, including maps, billboards, movie posters, comic books, and ‘merchant posters’ that advertise predatory services in economically distressed neighborhoods.

Don’t miss the opportunity to experience Bradford’s work ‘Playing Castles’ in ‘The Alchemists’, on view in Atlanta through April 29.

Artwork Details:
Mark Bradford, Playing Castles, 2022
Mixed media on canvas
72 1/8 x 96 1/4 x 2 1/8 in

Image courtesy of Mark Bradford, Hauser & Wirth Gallery
Joshua White, JWPictures