Join us for an intimate artist talk with Amani Lewis on the closing weekend of their pivotal exhibition, Chapter 1: The Mind in Chaos Meets the God of Clarity, at Mindy Solomon Gallery. In a conversation with Corey Davis, Founder and Creative Director of Maven Leadership Collective, we’ll lean into the tumultuous events that inspired Amani’s new body of work and their journey to reclaim the narrative.
Program
2 PM | Welcome reception
2:30 PM | Amani Lewis in conversation with Corey Davis and Q&A
3:30 PM | Artist tour
This event is for Commissioner members and invited guests. Capacity is limited, first come, first served. RSVP essential.
“This year has been filled with different types of challenges that has left me to feel lost in my body; as if I am drowning, disoriented, uncentered, uncertain and broken,” explained Amani. “The stress of creating and keeping legacy is something that has become a heavy load, but an endurance that can’t be left behind. With questions such as: ‘What if I fail?’ Or ‘What if people forget about me and my contributions?’ floating around in my mind, I started to become numb.”
Reeling from unprecedented growth in the art world, including astronomical auction results, museum acquisitions, and sold-out shows, Amani rode a wave of fame that overwhelmed them. However, the sudden retreat of the frenzied buying and ultimately selling of works in the post-COVID period left them feeling confused and uncertain. In a candid interview with The New York Times, Amani opens up in ways rarely seen in the field. We also observe their process evolving as an expression of faith and resilience.
See CHAPTER 1, The Mind in Chaos Meets the God of Clarity before it closes. Following the artist talk, there will be a brief Q&A and an exhibition tour.
Learn more at mindysolomon.com.
Amani Lewis. Stretch Out My Hands: A Hymn for the Father. Acrylic, glitter, and digital collage on canvas, 45 × 35 in | 114.3 × 88.9 cm (2024). Courtesy of Mindy Solomon Gallery
About Amani Lewis (they/them)
Born in Washington D.C., in 1994, Amani Lewis is known for their distinctively elaborate portraits, which often depict individuals from the artist’s social and creative circles through manipulation of photographic imagery. After graduating from the Maryland Institute College of Art, the artist now splits their time between Baltimore and Miami, where they live and work. Capturing the multifaceted faces of city life amid the tangle of nature, Amani’s portraits exist to chronicle how the people in their life have shaped their world and contributed to their growth and learnings. Amani’s has work in notable collections such as Chicago Booth London, University of Chicago, London, UK; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL; Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; The Bunker Art-space, West Palm Beach, FL; Speed Museum, Louisville, KT; Westmoreland Museum, Pittsburgh, PA; and The Broad Museum, Los Angeles, CA, among others.
About Corey Davis (he/they)
Corey Davis cultivates social impact as a culture shift strategist and content producer. His focus on adult learning in the workplace extends across the nonprofit, private, and public sectors. As founder and creative director of Maven Leadership Collective, Corey mobilizes an ecosystem of support that provides respite and fortification for queer and trans leaders of color and allies who are building more just communities in Florida, North Carolina, and New York. He graduated from the University of Maryland at College Park with a BA in journalism/public relations and earned his MPA in nonprofit management from George Washington University. Corey serves as board treasurer for Pioneer Winter Collective, an intergenerational and physically integrated dance-theater company.