NYAB Event - Erika deVries "An Enlarged Heart"

Erika deVries "An Enlarged Heart"

MIYAKO YOSHINAGA art prospects

This event has ended.

An Enlarged Heart takes language and light as central forms and metaphor with new works in neon, lenticular, photo etching, and embroidery. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of public events and performances.

deVries' work is narrative and responds to cyclical transformations from girlhood, womanhood, and motherhood. The present exhibition incorporates the rhythms of daily living while exploring the nature of presence and absence. An Enlarged Heart draws on textual works in the artist's six-year old son's hand, as he copies phrases dictated by his mother. Rendered in neon, these transcriptions crystallize the moments when language and meaning coalesce. "Infinite Capacity" and "For Goodness Sake" also appear in a series of collaborative drawings with her son embroidered on tea towels. deVries writes, "New words and their meanings, movements, skills, and experiences are part the parent's every day parade. I am staggered by each moment's fullness then disappearance. I re-learn the power of words as my children work towards literacy."

Continuing her use of lenticular photography and exploring new fabrications transforming her photographic imagery, deVries matches the triumph of language acquisition with the reconciliation of loss including that of a family friend who died from complications due to an enlarged heart. Other works document marigold-dying processes, household compost, and seasonal shifts. In a photo etching created at Ten Grand Press, Victorian writing exercises and a mobile device's chat simultaneously explore how writing is communication both shared and internal.

Media

• Drawing
• Photography

ADVERTISE ON NYAB