Hot and Cold, 2019
Acrylic and glitter on panel; 24 x 24"
Traywick Contemporary proudly announces Infinite Edges, our first solo exhibition with Oakland artist Adia Millett. Following the close of Breaking Patterns, her critically acclaimed, one-person show at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles, the new exhibition will speak to her cross-disciplinary practice which includes quilt-making, painting, drawing, photography, collage and sculpture.
Weaving African American experiences with broader ideas of identity, personal memory and collective history, Millett is interested in the fragile interconnectivity among all living things. A creative fluidity allows her to transition from medium to medium in an intuitive way, with a process-oriented, tactile approach. Much as the nature of identity can be seen as constructed—fragmented and reassembled from layers of life—Millett's work is similarly multifaceted and complex.
Her paintings feature abstracted, geometric shapes that imply movement—colorful forms expand and collapse freely among glittery backgrounds with hints of landscape and structural objects such as roof tops, windows and doors. Millett's textiles draw on the domestic and artistic traditions of quilt-making, piecing them together in an improvisational way that combines materials with specific cultural references. Her series of ink drawings feature dwellings that morph into space ships and other futuristic structures; her miniature houses are elaborate vignettes with dreamlike narratives and surreal interior spaces.
All of Millett's work pays homage to the past with an eye on the journey ahead. She reminds us of the importance of renewal and rebuilding, not only through the artistic process, but also through the possibility of transformative change.
Adia Millett earned her BFA from UC Berkeley followed by an MFA from CalArts in 2000. In addition to the recent CAAM show, her work has been exhibited at many prominent institutions including The Studio Museum, Harlem; the Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco; the Oakland Museum, CA; Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco; New Museum, New York; and Barbican Gallery, London.