I NEVER REALLY KNEW YOU Curated by Moshanda Tifrere
I Never Really Knew You,” revolves around the many layers of the ego and serves as a visual journal that offers a story of self-awakening and truth. Spanning various genres and mediums, viewer are invited into the minds of the artists, highlighting their individual creative processes, growth, vision, and diverse voices. “Our mental, emotional, and physical health are all victims of the lies our ego-selves whisper in our minds,” Tifrere said. “The ego is the master of disguise. But once you witness the ego, you realize that it never really existed. We are actually in control of our human story and that the only way to reveal our truths is by removing our masks and the many layers of fear they hide. Each work in this exhibition is a testament to the transformative power of self-realization to align us with life's potential wonders.”
Swoon, Amani Lewis-Mazi Smazi, Malik Roberts, Calvin Clausell Jr., Dionne Simpson, Tonia Calderon
MASHONDA TIFRERE Mashonda Tifrere has created a multi-dimensional career that includes Music, Art, and Entrepreneurship. In music, Tifrere has collaborated with some of the biggest names in pop music. In the literary space, she is the author of the 2018 Penguin Random House release “Blend: The Secret to Co-parenting and Creating a Balanced Family." As an international curator and the Founder of Art Genesis, Mashonda is building a sustainable marketplace for entrepreneurial emerging and established artists/creatives. The Art Business graduate from Christie's Education in New York has partnered with Beyoncé’s BeyGOOD, Gucci’s Chime for Change, American designer Donna Karan, museums, galleries, and art fairs worldwide to curate exhibitions, and has shown more than 200 artists. Her work has garnered features in Forbes, The New York Times, Cultured Mag, Artnet, Whitewall, and Artsy.
AMANI LEWIS Amani Lewis is an artist based in Baltimore, Maryland. In 2016, they graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in General Fine Arts and Illustration. “My work exists because these people exist,” Lewis said. “As the artist, I reclaim the power the media wields to tell our stories for us. I manipulate and complexify images of an environment and people whose stories are manipulated and simplified by those who wield economic power over the landscape of the city.”
CALVIN CLAUSELL JR. Born in 1989, Calvin Clausell Jr., a resident of the vibrant city of Los Angeles, CA. His artistic journey has been a testament to the fusion of two distinct passions: acting and oil painting. From early sketches to creating large-scale, photorealistic oil paintings on wood panels, his work reflects a lifelong commitment to capturing the intricacies of human expression and the profound connection between humanity and the natural world.
DIONNE SIMPSON As a painter, Dionne Simpson is of Jamaican descent, was raised in Toronto, and studied at Cooper Union in New York and OCADU in Toronto. In 2004, she became the first national winner of the RBC Canadian Painting Competition. In addition to architectural depictions, Simpson has also created portraits and abstract images, such as the work presented here. In her words, the canvas represents the underlying fabric of Canadian society, where she embeds fragments of our culture into the window frames.
MALIK ROBERTS Malik Roberts (b. 1990) is a Brooklyn-based painter of fine art. Utilizing subject and theme reminiscent of predecessors within the vast Cubist tradition, Roberts’ work characterizes the being and becoming of black culture, as well as the virtualities and dregs of human nature. SWOON Caledonia Curry / Swoon is an artist and filmmaker recognized for her pioneering vision of public artwork. Through intimate portraits, animated films, immersive installations, and multi-year community-based projects, she explores the potential inherent within the creative process to act as a catalyst for social change and interpersonal healing. Curry is a 2022 Sundance Directors Lab Fellow.
TONIA CALDERON Tonia Calderon, Los Angeles-based visual artist, seeks poetry within life’s complexities. Her layering process begins with a hand-written stance or couplet to serve as the work’s title. Calderon's artwork blends natural materials, flower pigments, resin, and chemical elements to galvanize movement and function as a reflection of her continuous exploration of living.