And Ever an Edge
Studio Museum in Harlem Artist in Residence Exhibition at MoMA Ps1
November 16, 2023–April 8, 2024
Can I Borrow Your Back? 2023 | Glass tile, felt, wood veneer, glitter and metallic papers, oil pastel, oil, color pencil, collage, oil stick, acrylic, picture frames, and pastel on wood panel 49 × 45 × 3 inches
Brown Bird Lean 2022 | Entryway door, suiting, denim, leather, suede, wooden chair, wrought iron, various shoulder pads, leather-bound journal, rocks, and dried orchid 53 × 42 × 26 inches
Chic' Chicken 2023 | Hair wig, various bird feathers, manipulated found metal, solid padlock body, hair clip, beads, rubber band, and pacifier 15 3/4 × 8 1/2 × 18 inches
I Dare You, Too 2023 | Wax, fiberglass, steel, and wick 78 × 36 × 6 1/2 inches
A Little Above the Head 2023 | Felt, Target bags, oil pastel, oil stick, support, headboard, wood veneer, a break, shards, nail polish, nail polish bottles, her nails, his bed, picture frame, acrylic, wrench, lamp cord, seashell, a drip, vinyl, hair barrette, cassette tape film, plug, plastic, bottle, glass, color pencil, statice flower, newel post, oil, and knobs on wood panel 88 1/2 × 5 × 91 inches
Not in the Bible 2023 | Her tree, acrylic, paint skins, mistakes, oil pastel, shorty caps, peeled paint from the Calvert Street overpass, the worst day of the year, oil stuck, cabinet doors, drawer handles, open drawers, dice, bow, glitter glue, birchbark, birch innards, red destroyed chair, collage, shaved crayon, corbel, stars, night and day, table legs of varying origin, a stump, mattress spring, edge of table, bottle caps, an opening, base board, moss, baluster, hinge, and dark scented bottles on wood panel 93 × 82 1/2 × 35 3/4 inches
I Am Black, But Comely... Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth: for thy love is better than wine. 2023 Watercolor, newspaper clippings, Baltimore Beat & AM New York, collage, willow oak bark, oil stick, oil pastel, glass, colonial blue wood from Brazil, wood, broken glass, a side of a house, Riis is torn, acrylic, crayon, crayon wax, encaustic wax, “North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Plant Division, Plant Protection Section Sweet Potato Certificate,” London plane tree bark, color pencil, oil, oil pastel, pastel, color pencil, acrylic, earring, collage, felt, oil stick, ink, 4 x 6 in. photographs, glass, and plywood on table cloth on wood panel 71 × 2 1/2 × 125 inches
High Grasses; Just For Today 2023 | Candle wax, her waxed flowers, wounded jug, her earrings, dragonfly, red key, “Clean and serene for nine months” keychain, jewels, chains, black table, vinyl flooring, carpet, fentanyl test strip, three figures sculpted and laying, colorful crayons, bronze eagle perched, liberated white candle, bronze eagle fallen, bamboo reeds, handles to forgotten tools, plastic, butterflies, punctured water hose, umbrella handles, plexiglass rods, glitter, and the sands of... 82 × 24 1/2 × 99 inches
Convening in the Reeds
Recorded readings by Morris, Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Parisa Esfahani, Clifford Prince King, and J Wortham played on a loop in the gallery
Featured recordings include:
- “Character 01, James” by Clifford Prince King
- “Untitled” by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.
- "Even Black Holes Give Birth," excerpted from the forthcoming Work of Body by J/enna Wortham
- “Untitled” by Devin N. Morris
- “Warm Up” by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr.
- “Cedar Grove” by Clifford Prince King
- “Untitled” by Devin N. Morris
- “For Frank” by Parisa Esfahani
- “Character 02, Billie” by Clifford Prince King
I Too can do what the Earth Can, Quietly Wait for the Sun to Return 2023 | Light, lamp post, pill bottle, and concrete 82 × 10 × 10 inches
High Grasses and a Flock of Fowl Remains 2023 | Metal and glass stand, found hairs, contorted tiny metals, whisk, beads, handles and sticks, jewels, “then we drew,” paper, bird feathers, silk, acrylic, pigment powder, carpet, vinyl flooring, collage, crayon confetti, leaves, earrings, jewels, plastic diamonds, glittery comb, contorted wire hanger, electrical cord, pen and quill, ballpoint tip and ink chamber, beeswax, braid, picket fence, collage, silk flower, pom-pom, glitter, and spots 74 × 24 × 100 inches
High Grasses Higher Still 2023 | Their keys, keychains, bamboo reeds, various doorknobs, plexiglass rods, contorted metals, key tags, umbrella, wrought-iron window gate, crystal doorknob, that blue door, mushrooms, liquor bottle plugs, handles to domestic care tools, painted wood, acrylic, door hinge, and “Just For Today” 73 × 25 × 53 1/2 in
High Grasses Striving; Takes a seat in the Kitchen, on the table, across the Floor 2023 | Balustrades, metallic whisps, acrylic, sand, pigment powder, stove burner grate and cover, ceramic mugs, broken plates, cashed candle wax, shattered broken monkey bobbing its head in delight, dripping, aluminum can, two wooden chairs striving to be, wrought-iron table leg, smashed cheese grater, breaking dishes, tops of jars, their baking dish's severed lid, chair feet, vinyl flooring collage, and bamboo reeds 75 × 24 × 53 inches
A Confident, Pretty Stream 2023 | Flow, trash cans, Legos, toy shoes, needle caps, bike reflector, an accident, broken mechanical pencil, “out of service,” toys, barbie shoes, sunglass lens, plexiglass, broken glass, miniature liquor bottle tops (shorties), spiral, plastic, balls, marbles, wrist watch parts, whippits, tip, barrel, spring, ballpoint tip, ink chamber, thrust device, buttons, sparkle and shine, bottle tops, lighters, broken lighter parts, “a tree falls in a river,” hoop earrings, broken mirrors, shards, puzzle piece, hair barrettes, pill bottle fragments, “Burn Warning,” Gimp, toys, bottlenecks, tiny metals, cap gun ammunition, earrings, basketball, trigger lever and pump, hair combs, and golf ball Exhibition Dimensions: ½ × 29 × 194 in
