49″x48″; aluminum, metallic bubble wrap, insulation foam, textiles, enamel, acrylic, earth and saw dust on wood; 2022. Courtesy of the artist.
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Stuart Robertson: A Suh Wi Dweet
at Second Street Gallery in Charlottesville, Virginia, USA
4 February-25 March 2022
“A Suh Wi Dweet” is a solo exhibition of over twenty mixed-media paintings by Stuart Robertson. The exhibition introduces a new body of work, developed between 2021 and 2022, that reflects on a decade of questions from a life lived between Jamaica, The United States and Europe. The work emphasizes Robertson’s practice evolving at the intersection of figurative and abstract painting today. This presentation at Second Street Gallery marks Robertson’s first professional solo exhibition, providing the community of Charlottesville and beyond with a look at new work from an emerging artist committed to representing his family, friends, and community with care.
Visiting scholar and writer Luke Williams wrote: “‘A Suh Wi Dweet’ depicts both Robertson’s biological and chosen family from a place of protection and care. Viewers may recognize the people captured in several of the portraits, as Robertson seeks to thank and to celebrate Black folks in Charlottesville who warmly welcomed him into their community. At the same time, recognizing them may be a challenge because Robertson depicts his metal-clad subjects only partially, framing not their face, but their hands, mouths, and other parts of their bodies. In so doing, he invites us to ask questions about the mundane, and extraordinary, inner lives of Black people.
24″x24″; aluminum, textiles, insulation foam, cardboard, enamel and acrylic on wood; 2022. Courtesy of the aritst.
(text adapted from material provided by the gallery)
INFORMATION
Second Street Gallery
115 2nd Street SE
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902 USA
(434) 977-7284
Hours:
Wednesday-Friday, 11AM-5PM
Saturday, 10AM-4PM