A HUMID HUMMING
4/3-5/13 2021
Opening Reception: 4/3 6-9pm
Cleo the Gallery is pleased to present A Humid Humming, our newest exhibition curated by Jeanette McCune with work by Jane Foley, Codi Maddox, Leslie Finnie, Hannah Tarr, Jaime Keiter, Sam Newton, Danielle Norris, Adam Amram, and Aliyah Salmon. This exhibition will run from April 3 to May 13th 2021 with the opening reception taking place on April 3rd from 6-9pm.
This show is a reflection of the agitation experienced under situational pressure. Utilizing design, pattern, color, and kitsch there are narratives woven through character transition under the umbrella of direction with which these works are situated. For Newton and Tarr this is represented through the animal avatars they have chosen to represent their dispositions. Newton paints emphatic horses clashing as a diversion from traditional self portraiture to convey the frustrations surrounding the limits of communication to express emotions. Her horses are sometimes clumsy, sometimes suggestive, as they conflate agitated emotions into a caricature of the artist. Following the lore of spirit animals, Tarr uses the rabbit totem to express her shifting fear, shyness and anxiety that goes along with attributes of cleverness and creativity. Her layered collaged works suggest environmental stimulants that have shaped her in relation to this symbology.
Following lore as well, Norris uses the mythology of Blemmyes to confront the narrative of anxiety felt as a woman isolated from her opinions and piece of mind. She also uses the backdrops of familiar places like the bedroom she grew up in or the town she moved to in her early twenties in support of this narrative vision of herself. Along with this are other transitory conceptions of self that use pop culture and art history reference to express a flamboyance felt beyond these insecurities. Maddox uses collage to showcase black life in Atlanta. Her visions are animated and celebratory and like Norris, pull on art historical reference as well as pop culture to express the dynamism of character and culture. With the same goal, Salmon celebrates black life through depicting cultural iconography in her tufted rugs. The rugs use pattern, color, and kitsch to promote the pride with which the artist honors her background.
Attached to these expressions, Finnie depicts dreamscapes with her architectural sketches specifically for black lives in city scapes. While fantastical they push the boundaries of what society sees as typical so as to promote curious thinking when it comes to urban planning. In a literal response to the environment surrounding the characters in his drawings, Amram creates narratives of what it is like to explore the constriction and expansion found in the nature around us. Like a cut out from a storybook, his characters are expressive of both their fears and exuberance while traveling through the scenes.
Foley’s sculptures exist in the artist’s explorations of gender fluidity. With a body of work that centers around water and its ability to promote an analogy for this fluidity, the palm tree lamps cast from pool floats are a flamboyant anchor in which to explore multiple identities. Keiter uses relatable and referential design in her work as well. She creates landscapes of balanced composition in response to the restless play she performs while assembling the small ceramic pieces in the scene. The resulting imagery recreates time specific design from the hosting nostalgia.
This show proudly highlights the work of 9 artists influenced by the three southern cities of Tampa, Savannah, and Atlanta in which they grew up in or currently reside:
Jane Foley (b. New Orleans, LA) received an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They currently reside in Atlanta, GA.
janefoley.club / @jane_g_f
Codi Maddox (b. Atlanta, GA) is a self taught artist. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
www.codimaddox.art / @actuallyfromatlanta
Leslie Finnie (b. New York, NY) received both a BFA and an MFA in Architecture from Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently resides in New York, NY.
lesliefinnie.com / @finnaleslie
Hannah Tarr (b. Atlanta, GA) received a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
hannahtarr.com / @hannahetarr
Jaime Keiter (b. Atlanta, GA) received a BFA from the University of Georgia. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
jaimekeiter.com / @jaimekeiter
Sam Newton received a BFA in Painting from the University of South Florida. She currently resides in Tampa, FL.
@slammtronn
Danielle Norris (b. Atlanta, GA) received a BFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, MA. She currently resides in Columbia County, New York.
arieldaniellenorris.com / @danielle____norris
Adam Amram (b. Haifa, Israel) was raised in Atlanta, GA and received a BFA in Painting from Maryland Institute College of Art. He currently resides in Palo Alto, CA.
adamamram.com / @adam_amram_
Aliyah Salmon received a BFA in Textile Design from Savannah College of Art and Design. She currently resides in Brooklyn, New York.
aliyahsalmon.com / @tyrabanks_official
​
Photos by Jacob Edenfield
​
​
​