Divergent Evolution

Divergent Evolution

Tracing the factors that lead to the creation of a single work of art - or series - can be linear or oblique, requiring hindsight of a quasi- archaeological level. What was the spark, the precedent, the breakthrough, the catalyst that led to this specific piece?

Artists are invited to submit two or more works that bear evidence (if only to their creator) of the evolution of their practice. Perhaps a work made a few years ago, viewed today, unmistakably includes formal or thematic preoccupations that now dominate your most current body of work. What are the kinship systems in your studio: parent-child, sibling, cousin, orphan? Is there a hierarchy that until now, perhaps, had not been articulated? Is your work influenced by the other artists with whom you share a cultural ecosystem? Or is the environment shaping it exclusively the landscape within your brain?

CURATOR
Emma Wilcox is the Gallery Director at Gallery Aferro, where, with Co-Founder and Artistic Director Evonne Davis she has designed and implemented hundreds of exhibits, public programs, educational initiatives, public art projects as well as more than two dozen publications. Wilcox is a practicing artist. She studied photography at the School of Visual Arts and was part of the 2015-2017 cohort of the Prudential Foundation Nonprofit Executive Fellows Program at the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School. She lectures regularly on art and cultural engagement topics, including a  2016 TedX talk. More information about Wilcox can be found on our website or at afferro.org.