A Chorus of Marks and Artifacts: Demetri Espinosa and Anina Major

Cultural identity is a subject explored in this exhibition through two different art mediums and  diverging practices. Espinosa, a Mexican/Greek American straddles multiple cultural identities as a child of immigrants. His abstract paintings discuss the hybridity of a Third Culture Kid identity and serve as records of his mark making which often times reveals familiar shapes and gestures yet finds its apex in abstraction.

Major’s ceramic and mixed media sculptures critique the performative nature of culture and identity through the prisms of Caribbean island tourism. Growing up in the Bahamas, where cultural and racial stereotypes are inevitable facets of maintaining a bourgeoning tourism, Major borrows heavily from the cultures of West Africa in her work. Lobi baskets, woven straw vessels and natural sea sponges were reference points for her hybrid assemblages. In addition to clay, she uses sponges and other materials to make works that demand close examination of how original and constructed identities converge and at times become blurred. 

This exhibition is supported by an essay from art writer and reviewer Natalie Haddad who, through series of conversations with both artists, illuminates the audience of each artist’s artistic tensions and intentions. 

Demetri Espinosa graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and Design with a BFA in painting. He has shown in Massachusetts and Montana and is the CO-Director of BOSSCRITT, an online monthly critique group for art practitioners. 

 

Anina Major is a sculptor who received her MFA in ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). She is an Assistant Professor at RISD and has extensive solo and group exhibitions in the USA, the Bahamas and Europe. She is the recipient of many awards and residencies including MassMOCA Studio Artist in Residence and Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Studio Program, New York.