Femme National(e): Audrey Brown, Christina Coleman, Kasumi Chow + Desiree Michelle Espada, Emmy Laursen and Juliana Isabel Ramirez, August 27–September 25, 2016

"I See in Colors" by Audrey Brown

Femme National(e)
Audrey Brown
Christina Coleman
Kasumi Chow + Desiree Michelle Espada
Emmy Laursen
Juliana Isabel Ramirez
 
Curated by Amarie Gipson

Opening Reception: Saturday, August 27, 7-10 pm 
Exhibition: August 27 – September 25, 2016
Gallery Hours: Saturdays & Wednesday 12-5pm or by appointment

Femme National(e) is a multimedia collection of works by six visual artists brought together for their vivid and reminiscent imagery, intricate processes and feminine sensibilities. French for “national women,” the show’s title seeks to capture the essence of collective and individual expression and was inspired by the desire to exhibit contemporary femininity through creative practice, color and narrative.

Audrey Brown is a visual artist working primarily through drawing. She is a St. Louis native who has developed her practice through travel and transition. Her work is female centered with compositions that evoke a Fauvist palette and delicacy. Her subjects are usually surrounded by playful shapes and their distinct figuration challenge the conventional female nude. Throughout her cross country travels, her drawings have been rooted in a new emotional and artistic awareness. Her most recent work reflects the sentiments she has discovered in new endeavors and symbolizes the beginning of a physical stability in her life.

Christina Coleman is a visual artist based in Austin, Texas. She received her bachelor’s in studio art from the University of California at Los Angeles and a master’s in fine arts from the University of Texas at Austin. Christina Coleman’s work flows between drawing and sculpture, using hair as her primary material and subject matter. She is fascinated with line and repetition and channels her inspiration through forms that exist in space. She creates objects that have multiple associations and metaphors.
www.christinacoleman.net
 
Kasumi Chow + Desiree Michelle Espada live and work in Dallas, Texas. The two graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in fine arts with a dedicated concentration in photography. They began collaborating during their undergraduate years, seamlessly combining their of 21st century feminine identity and coming of age in photographs.
kasumichow.com + desireeespada.com
 
Emmy Laursen lives and works Austin, Texas. Laursen's work is currently dealing with the way that found materials represent or imply memory and place. Formal elements serve as a vehicle to create conversations that activate a sense of the familiar or nostalgia for a viewer. The abstraction of everyday forms create the foundation for the composition, are deconstructed and reorganized. This process of re-interpretation and improvisation opens up the pathway for invention and mystery.   
emmylaursen.com

Juliana Isabel Ramirez is a fine art photographer living and working in Austin, Texas. Ramirez is a recent St. Edward’s University graduate with a degree in photocommunication and was an integral part of building and running The Mom Gallery during her undergraduate years. She is currently the Director of Creative Assets at Beehive Boutique.
isabeljuliana.com