This year NIAD is delighted to have works by seventeen NIAD artists in the Richmond Art Center’s AOTAD exhibition, with satellite exhibition locations to be announced. Art of the African Diaspora, in partnership with Richmond Art Center, supports artists of African descent in the Bay Area through representation, professional development, and building a creative community. Read More …
Opening Reception Friday February 3 6 to 8:30pm Warehouse 416 This year NIAD is delighted to have works by ten NIAD artists in both the Richmond Art Center AOTAD exhibition and a satellite exhibition at the Warehouse 416 art space in Oakland. The reception coincides with Oakland’s First Fridays Art Walk. Art of the African Diaspora, in partnership with Richmond Art Center, supports artists of African descent in the Bay Area through representation, professional development, and building a creative community. Participating NIAD Artists: Christian Vassell Deatra Colbert Dorian Reid Evelyn Davis Felicia Griffin Jason Powell-Smith Shawna Kinard Shawn Read More …
About the exhibition The invitation to curate this exhibition initially felt like an insurmountable task. The amount of work I felt thrilled by on a first look at the archive seemed impossible to winnow down. I immediately knew I didn’t want to use some contrived academic framework for decision making. I wanted to create an exhibition of works that I just couldn’t shake, a group of things that struck that deep internal chord which has no words or explanation. I decided that I would make an initial large list of things I was drawn to, and then revisit those lists repeatedly over several weeks, seeing what remained stuck in Read More …
About Eternal Idol Eternal Idol, Rodin’s famous sculpture, was hewn in marble, plaster, and bronze. His repetition of form, motif, and emotion creates a complex awareness of this bundle of human desire, submission and adoration. To repeat renders the form repeatable. The red paint on the image painted by Guadalupe Soto adds a filter to the couple. The works selected for the online exhibition Eternal Idol together speak about everyday eternity, observing and repeating and tenderly attending to what we desire, submit to and adore. About Emily M. Harris Emily M. Harris is a New York-based interdisciplinary artist whose large-scale installations and intimate works Read More …
About “SISTER SISTER” Some people think we look alike; others think our voices sound the same, and still others mistake us for each other – but do we have the same taste? We definitely swapped clothes, jewelry, sneakers, and a few items we argued over as tiny pups in the world.In this selection, I tried to choose for my sister a few of the things I think she might have borrowed from my childhood bedroom – or that I’d want to borrow from hers. (Unsurprisingly, we chose a few of the same items the first time around!) As the younger sibling, I Read More …
About “The Zindel Collection” collection The items in this Holiday Gift Guide are perfect for your friend or family member who: 1. loves handsome dudes and fall colors. Mireya Betances, Two Dudes ceramic 13x7x2″ 2. admires intelligence, integrity, and dedication. Raven Harper, MLK T-shirt hand silk-screened, 100% cotton 3. dreams of living in a strawberry. Heather Hamann, Untitled mixed media on paper 12×18″ 4. loves swamp creatures. Saul Alegria, Untitled ceramic 13x10x2″ 5. loves alien swamp creatures. Saul Alegria, Untitled acrylic on paper 30×22“ 6. likes laughing, and ponies on the freeway. Nathan Lam, Bad Traffic Sign graphite on paper, Read More …
We are thrilled to kick off our NIAD Holiday Gift Guide series! Every week we’ll have a fresh collection of artwork from NIAD’s dazzlingly diverse inventory – paintings, afghan blankets, coloring books, planters, posters, necklaces, music, t-shirts, wallhangings, prints, greeting cards, zines, soft sculptures, ceramics, and more. And it’s all lovingly hand-picked by the art aficionados who know it best – NIAD studio artists and staff. Enjoy! About the “Mixed Media” collection “Holidays bring family together. You remember people who aren’t with you. When you look at the gifts, they should make you think about the good times you Read More …
About the Exhibition For this exhibition for NIAD I didn’t want to overthink the process. I decided to begin by going through all the available art and to notice things that kind of jumped out at me. I viewed everything one time and then went back a second time to select artworks. As I viewed the first group of selections I tried to see connections between the works. I noticed that there seemed to be a theme in many of the works that I would describe as being of a narrative nature. I am talking about implied narratives, nothing really Read More …
About the exhibition Viewers can learn much from the work of NIAD artists. Their work offers the viewer a recognition that life is often a jumble of color and form. Things arise, and often not in a linear or scientific manner. In reviewing the NIAD catalog, a religious/spiritual theme emerges. Based on the conception of the beginning of the world found in the Old Testament book of Genesis, out of a chaos a world is born. Let there be light. About the organizer Jay Youngdahl is an artist, writer, and activist. For the past few decades he has made his Read More …
About the exhibition As artists, we all have super powers. We can say what we feel and build worlds out of nothing. We can demand change and speak out about injustices. We can protest for our rights, freedoms, and share with others our views. It is the outside world viewed through the artist’s lens. Our powers are both inside and outside of us. Who among us will stand up for what they believe in? Who among us will help out? Who among us has a vision? Who among us desires change and progress? And who among us will do Read More …
About the gallery The NIAD MiNi Gallery is a collection of work that showcases the diversity of NIAD’s studio artists in material and form, featuring the artists who contributed to the SFMOMA MiNi Mural Project. About the event From the SFMOMA website: In 1940, more than sixty-five artists made their creative processes public when they participated in Art in Action, an exhibition of live art making conceived by architect Timothy L. Pfleuger as part of the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island. Among these artists was Diego Rivera, who during this time painted the mural Pan American Unity, which Read More …
About the exhibition Here is a picture by James Heartsill of what looks to be a house, except it has teeth, and there is a sky and trees and the roof looks like it has a hair cut, and a tongue is coming out like a door mat. Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart wrote a song called My Head is My Only House Unless it Rains, and that’s what this mixed media on canvas piece makes me think of. We walk around in our heads that protect us like little houses. We inhabit our bodies. They are our homes, and we may own Read More …
About the exhibition Serotonin Ping is a collection of images that aspire to elicit feelings of well-being, stability, and happiness. Pets, food, inside jokes, oddities, simple statements – these are the things that cheer me up. Hopefully this show makes someone else crack a smile. About the selector Zoë Taleporos is a curator, arts administrator, and writer based in Oakland. She currently works as a Public Art Project Manager at the San Francisco Arts Commission where she is involved in commissioning a wide range of artworks for public spaces.
About the exhibition Warming A selection of works that embrace imperfect elements and subtle beauty found in nature. We can envision the artists admiring the natural world and what they love about it. Each work is met with a delicate thoughtful touch that can transcend beyond the page. The same mindset can be found in making sustainable choices that better people and the planet. About the selector Good Buy Supply is Philadelphia’s first retail store dedicated to plastic-free alternatives for everyday life. Located in the grand, independent business community of East Passyunk Avenue, Good Buy Supply boasts a large selection Read More …
Multi-disciplinary NIAD artist Dorrie Reid has chosen a show that speaks to and about this moment. As Dorrie explains, “I’m getting sick and tired of hearing news about people getting killed… I’m thinking about the future, and I’m thinking about right now. When will I be able to do my own thing without getting stressed out, and without any violence or cruelty?” View it here.