Starting next week, two artists, Karmimadeebora McMillan and Loretta Park, will be featured in the Montserrat Gallery in solo exhibitions that explore new forms of beauty for everyday objects and themes of memory and how Black histories are held and carried.
Karmimadeebora McMillan: Wandering stars...for whom it is reserved...the blackness...the darkness...forever opens on January 30 and runs through March 6. An opening reception for McMillan will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February 7, at the Montserrat Gallery in Beverly.
The exhibition features works that mine Black material culture and historical archives to reimagine Black histories through diverse media. This is McMillan's first major solo exhibition in the region, and in it she has created an immersive installation featuring animation, painting, and sound. Wandering stars...for whom it is reserved...the blackness...the darkness...forever is a kaleidoscopic journey through time that draws inspiration from sci-fi, speculative fiction, and Afrofuturism.
Presented in partnership with bkprojects in Watertown, Mass., the exhibition premiers two new animations and a series of mixed media artworks. Figures such as the “Protector,” a character drawn from the Black Panther Coloring Book, a propaganda piece disseminated by the US government in the 1960s, appear throughout McMillan’s paintings and animations. Also central to McMillan’s futuristic narrative is “Ms Merri Mack,” a doll-like figure based on a vintage children’s toy portraying a black caricature. Wandering stars...for whom it is reserved...the blackness...the darkness...forever re-envisions the past, present, and future to explore the power of memory and how Black histories are held and carried.
Then, starting Feb. 5, Montserrat College of Art will feature another solo exhibition by Loretta Park, entitled About to Thaw, in Montserrat's Carol Schlosberg Gallery. The reception for the artist will also be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday, February, and is open to the public.
Loretta Park incorporates weaving and fiber-art techniques with everyday objects to create colorful and tactile sculptures. From colorful nylon rope, plastic ice-cube trays, plates, and cups to scraps of cloth and paper, Park transforms commonplace materials and classic techniques into newly imagined color blocks of form and texture.
About to Thaw runs through March 16.
