An exhibition of shared experiences of Black identity
ABOVE PHOTO: Poodle | 2018, paper clay, sheep fur, 22″ h By Kimberly Camp
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — InLiquid Gallery has announced the opening of “Dolls, Idols, and Ideals, “an exhibition featuring Kimberly Camp and Emilio Maldonado, two artists investigating their personal and shared experiences of Black identity and how that identity is defined by lineage, history, myth, and magic. The show runs from February 29 to April 20, 2024, at the InLiquid Gallery located in the Crane Arts Building in the South Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia.
In the lonesome, 2019, acrylic, wood, found objects, 65″ x 48″ x 8″ By Emilio Maldonado
Both artists pull from cultures globally that have historically been subject to structures of colonialism and white supremacy. Rather than simply referencing, they adapt the included symbols, rituals, and meanings to define themselves, and the continental experience of Blackness.
0-100%, 2020, found objects and resin on panel, 90″ x 56″ x 16″
By Emilio Maldonado
Through their ownership of, and reveling in their shared and individual cultural heritages, each artist finds their strength and power.
The exhibition will house 15 one-of-a-kind handmade dolls by Camp, featuring explorations of the artist’s Geechee ancestry, explorations of the history of Black culture in the United States, studies of African Diasporic history, as well as her family history.
Deer | 2018, polymer clay, fibers, beads, kanekalon, wolf teeth, 16″ x 14″
By Kimberly Camp
In addition, the show will feature sculptural installations by Maldonado which pull influence from the traditional architecture of the Dominican Republic, as well as clothing assembled from found objects that embody attire worn by the artist’s family members during Dominican Gagá rituals. Additionally, Oyewumi Oyeniyi, Philadelphia’s current Youth Poet Laureate, will write a poem in place of a catalog essay for the show.
Eve (Pangolin) | 2018, cork, paper clay, poly clay, canvas, onyx, 17″ x 31″ By Kimberly Camp
EVENT DETAILS:
Gallery hours are Wednesday-Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. The public is invited to attend programming related to the exhibit including:
- March 2, 6 to 8 p.m.: Film screening – “The United States of Hoodoo” by Oliver Hardt and hosted by Danny Simmons
- March 14, 6 to 9 p.m.: Second Thursday reception
- March 30, 3 to 4 p.m.: Family-friendly story telling with Saundra Gilliard
- April 11, 6 to 9 p.m.: Second Thursday reception
- April 13, 3 to 5 p.m. – On Blackness: Artist Talks and Panel
To learn more, please visit: https://www.inliquid.org.
ARTIST BIOS:
Kimberly Camp has a penchant for storytelling and comedy based on historical and cultural artifacts. Combined with her dolls and paintings, her work celebrates our similarities as people and serves to broaden our understanding of what it means to be African American.
Camp’s paintings and dolls have been shown nationally at venues including at the American Craft Museum (New York, NY) Smithsonian Institution (Washington, DC). She has received numerous awards including two National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships and the Smithsonian International Travel fellowship.
Camp, a native of Camden, New Jersey, pursued a dual career as founding director of the Smithsonian Institution Experimental Gallery, president and CEO of the Charles Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit, and president and CEO of The Barnes Foundation.
Emilio Maldonado is an Afro-Caribbean artist living in Philadelphia. He has developed a practice in the US as a gallery-museum preparator and consultant, an adjunct professor, and as an arts administrator. He is currently the artist relations director for Mural Arts Philadelphia, as well as a member of the 2021 cohort of Black Artist Fellows.
Through a multidisciplinary practice, including sculpture, ink on paper, and painting, he boards questions that live between the realm of the domestic and the social-contemporary, working through questions of culture, poverty, and trauma, with a keen interest in how their interpretations define narratives of the human condition.
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