Nadia Liz Estela: "heavy is the root of the dawn" | Artist Talk

800 Broad Street,Newark NJ 07102

09 December, 2021

Description

Join PES and AIR Nadia Liz Estela on Thursday, December 9th from 6 pm - 8 pm for a festive holiday gathering and artist talk. Join Project for Empty Space and Artist in Residence Nadia Liz Estela on Thursday, December 9th from 6 pm - 8 pm for a festive holiday gathering and artist talk. Estela will be in conversation with PES AIR alumni David Antonio Cruz (2015) to discuss her current exhibition, heavy is the root of the dawn, diaspora, memory, chosen family and more. This is an in person event (proof of vaccine required) or can be viewed on IG live @projectforemptyspace. The talk will be followed by holiday cheer and festive snacks! Please note: PES is closely monitoring the COVID 19 situation and only vaccinated individuals will be admitted to our in person events. Masks are required. _______ About Nadia Liz Estela heavy is the root of the dawn “heavy is the root of the dawn” is a body of work that explores the interstitial space of existence, also known as ‘rootlessness.’ The object-based pieces, comprised of large scale assemblage paintings, smaller works on paper, and a large scale embroidery, represents imagined spaces as well as spaces of consumption.  Project for Empty Space Artist in Resident Nadia Liz Estela addresses and unpacks the complexity of these layerings in her solo exhibition. A Dominican American, Estela scales from the micro of her own personal experience to the macro of the larger phenomenon of social constructionism, identity, labor, and the ‘immigrant,’ experience. Read more here: https://www.projectforemptyspace.org/current-exhibition _______ About David Antonio Cruz: David Antonio Cruz is a multidisciplinary artist and a Professor of the Practice in Painting and Drawing at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. Cruz fuses painting and performance to explore the visibility and intersectionality of brown, black, and queer bodies. 

Cruz received a BFA in painting from Pratt Institute and an MFA from Yale University. He attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and completed the AIM Program at the Bronx Museum. Recent residencies include the LMCC Workspace Residency, Project For Empty Space’s Social Impact Residency, and BRICworkspace. Cruz’s work has been included in notable group exhibitions at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, El Museo del Barrio, BRIC, Performa 13, and the Bronx Museum of Art. His fellowships and awards include the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters & Sculptors Grant, the Franklin Furnace Fund Award, the Urban Artist Initiative Award, the Queer Mentorship Fellowship, and the Neubauer Faculty Fellowship at Tufts University. Recent press includes The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, WhiteHot Magazine, W Magazine, Bomb Magazine, and El Centro Journal.