Tracing Figures considers the far-reaching impacts of the visual arts of the Black Diaspora. Moderated by artist and furniture designer Cheryl R. Riley, featuring visual artist & educator Zoe Charlton and curator & art historian Antoine Girard. The panelists will each share their reflections on the impact of the visual arts of the Black Diaspora on their lives and work as brilliant lights in the field.
Visual artist Zoë Charlton (Baltimore, MD) creates figure drawings, collages, installations, and animations. Using the nude body, often of Black women, she depicts her subject’s relationship with their world by combining images of culturally loaded objects and landscapes with figure drawings. Charlton received her MFA degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has participated in residencies at Skowhegan (ME), the Creative Alliance (MD) and others. She is in collections including Studio Museum in Harlem (NY), The Phillips Collection (DC), and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (AR). Charlton is an Associate Professor in the Department of Art at American University in Washington, DC. She holds a seat on the Maryland State Arts Council, is a board member at the Washington Project for the Arts (DC), and is co-founder of ‘sindikit, a collaborative, research-centered, art initiative.
Arts professional and a cultural strategist, Antoine Girard is passionate about the arts and social change. Professional and scholarly interests include Black visual culture, and inclusive engagement strategies. He earned his B.A. in Art History from Howard University. He began his work in the museum field working with The Broad and CAAM and most recently The Underground Museum. His upcoming curatorial work will be seen at Jeffrey Deitch Projects in Los Angeles.
Cheryl R. Riley is an artist, designer, mentor and art advisor focused on artists of the Black African Diaspora. Her art explores similarities between seemingly disparate cultures viewed through the lens of gender, history, rituals, implements and symbols. Recent sculpture projects address societal structures, nourishment, representation, survival, aspiration and transcendence. Her public art is permanently installed in New York City, San Francisco, Sacramento and Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. Furniture designs and artworks are in private collections throughout the U.S., as well as two Smithsonians, The Mint Museum of Craft & Design, The Oakland Museum and San Francisco’s MoMA.