GALLERY GUIDE Passages: Indentity, Memory, and Transformation
GALLERY GUIDE
Stephen Hamilton, Hunter, 2019, mixed media, 102 x 66 inches (detail)
Passages: Identity, Memory, and Transformation features a diverse group of contemporary artists who embrace themes of journey and transformation in their art. Whether exploring ancestral memory or reinvigorating cultural traditions, Passages artists translate their experience into compelling narratives through material investigation and creative process.
The global collective ArtLords harnesses the transformative power of art to advocate for women’s rights and social justice. Following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, members of ArtLords were forced to flee Afghanistan. Emphasizing messages of hope, resilience, and cultural identity, Vermont ArtLord members interweave memories of homeland with their new home as part of their three-panel mural, Passages of Resilience from Kabul to New Horizons, commissioned in part by BCA.
As a multiracial woman, New York artist Leyla Faye investigates the balance between identity, performance, and societal belonging in her series of dollhouse paintings and drawings. In works such as In the Balance, Faye poses her doll to enact rituals of play and self-detachment. Her double self-portrait expresses dueling identities in a state of perpetual transformation.
Leyla Faye, In the Balance, 2024
Boston artist Stephen Hamilton blends figurative painting and drawing with traditional techniques, creating work that incorporates both Western and African culture. In Hunter, Hamilton integrates artistic practices such as indigo dyeing and weaving into his large-scale paintings, as ritualized acts reclaiming ancestral knowledge.
New York artist Michelle Im ’s colorful, often humorous ceramics convey themes of home, displacement, and culture. In Korean Army Stew , Im deconstructs the traditional moon jar to form a metaphorical self-portrait acknowledging the tensions and contradictions within Korean-American identity.
Drawing on her familial ties to Palestine, Vermont artist Michelle Samour examines the sociopolitical implications of how borders, boundaries, and access to essential resources shape culture. In Withholding Water, Samour presents a group of amphora-shaped water carriers made from cast pigmented paper pulp and plant matter. Symbolizing both access to and movement of water, the vessels become synonymous with Palestinian cultural identity and sovereignty.
In Passages , some artists claim agency as they assert aspects of their individual and collective identity; others create work that rejects rigid societal expectations. Through materials, process, and personal narrative, these artists invite us to contemplate the multifaceted nature of identity.
—Heather Ferrell, Curator and Director of Exhibitions
Michelle Im, Korean Army Stew, 2024
CHECKLIST
ArtLords, Passages of Resilience from Kabul to New Horizons, 2024, BCA installation
ARTLORDS
Passages of Resilience from Kabul to New Horizons, 2024
acrylic on canvas
48 x 180 inches (3 panels)
LEYLA FAYE
In the Balance, 2024
acrylic and mixed media on canvas
60 x 96 inches
Courtesy of hum of progress
NFS
LEYLA FAYE
Over the Candlestick, 2024
graphite on paper
36 x 48 inches
Courtesy of the Artist and Company Gallery, NY
STEPHEN HAMILTON
Hunter, 2019
mixed media
102 x 66 inches
STEPHEN HAMILTON
Yemese, 2019 mixed media on paper 14 x 11 inches
$500
STEPHEN HAMILTON
Omi Sango, 2019 mixed media on paper 14 x 11 inches
$500
MICHELLE IM
Like A Hot Dog, 2024 earthenware 11 x 7.25 x 7 inches
$1,600
MICHELLE IM
Halmuni, 2024 earthenware 9 x 9 x 7 inches
$1,850
MICHELLE IM
Self-Portrait, 2024 earthenware
12 x 9 x 9 inches
$2,200
MICHELLE IM
Korean Army Stew, 2024 earthenware
11 x 11 x 9 inches
$3,800
MICHELLE IM
Where Do Memories Go?, 2024 earthenware
10 x 9.5 x 46 inches
$2,100
MICHELLE IM
Tripych, 2024
earthenware and cotton yarn
12 x 14 x 11 inches
10 x 13.5 x 7 inches
6 x 14 x 6 inches
MICHELLE SAMOUR
Withholding Water, 2023 cast pigmented gampi and abaca fiber, tree roots, gouache 112 x 204 x 12 inches
MICHELLE SAMOUR
Withholding Water #2, 2024 graphite and pigment on drafting vellum 84 x 36 inches
$3,000
MICHELLE SAMOUR
Land of Milk and Honey, 2017 burnt wood, milk paint, beeswax, plaster, steel 72 x 120 x 5 inches
Unless otherwise indicated, all works are Courtesy of the Artist and Price upon Request.
Michelle Samour, Witholding Water #2, 2024 (detail)
RELATED PUBLIC PROGRAMS
FALL GROUP AND SCHOOL VISITS
BCA gallery educators lead inquiry-driven group tours that encourage close looking, critical thinking, and thought-provoking conversation. We connect these conversations with hands-on art activities that explore exhibition themes, materials, and artistic processes. We welcome public, private, and homeschool students in grades pre-K to 12 and beyond.
Program fee: $15 per student ($10 tour only). Groups are invited to apply for a partial or full scholarship.
Contact Kristin Dykstra, Gallery Learning and Programs Coordinator, at kdykstra@burlingtoncityarts.org for more information or to reserve a visit.
FAMILY ART SATURDAY
Saturday, October 26, 2024, 11am - 1pm BCA Center, Fourth Floor Studio
Get creative and make art together! Join BCA for a drop-in artmaking activity inspired by art of Stephen Hamilton, whose combinations of painting with textiles are on display in Passages: Identity, Memory, and Transformation Transform fabric, paper, and other diverse materials into a portrait of yourself or someone you know.
FEATURED ARTISTS
ArtLords, Leyla Faye, Stephen Hamilton, Michelle Im, and Michelle Samour
Passages: Identity, Memory, and Transformation is supported in part by the Maslow Family Foundation. Hospitality sponsor, Lake Champlain Chocolates. Burlington City Arts is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.
