For Untitled 2024, Jonathan Carver Moore brings a curated group (Maya Varadaraj, Adana Tillman & Aplerh-Doku Borlabi) that focuses on the intersectionality of the artists' cautious use of materials, which creates a rich cross-cultural dialogue. Their approach highlights their unique backgrounds and experiences and fosters a deeper understanding of diverse narratives. By thoughtfully selecting materials, the artworks evoke specific cultural references and emotional responses, bridging gaps between traditions and artistic practices.
Figuration plays a central role in these artworks, expressing personal and collective narratives. The cross-cultural aspect emerges as the artists blend influences from their traditions, creating hybrid forms that challenge and expand the boundaries of their respective cultures. This fusion celebrates diversity and highlights the interconnectedness of global artistic practices. We hope the resulting dialogue invites viewers to reflect on their experiences and how culture shapes perception.
Artists
Maya Varadaraj (b. 1989) is an interdisciplinary artist currently based in New York. Varadaraj was born in the United States and raised in Southern India. Her upbringing in South India and subsequent move to the United States has largely influenced the process and subject matter of Varadaraj’s work. She references family photographs, selecting moments and memories to bring to the present through painting - invoking ancestral experience and wisdom. Images of her parents as children, a survey of female family members, her grandparents active and alive. She pulls these characters out of their setting and repositions them to serve her in her search for meaning. Varadaraj received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design before completing a Master's Degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work has been exhibited internationally at Vitra Design Museum, Museo Del Disseny Barcelona, India Art Fair, Sapar Contemporary, Mana Contemporary, and Medium Tings, among others, and her work is in the collection of Kiran Nadar Museum of Art in Dehli. Varadaraj has been featured in Arnet, The Brooklyn Rail, Architectural Digest, The Week, The Hindu, Bold Journey Magazine, Phaidon's Vitamin C+: Collage in Contemporary Art, Juxtapoz, Gotham Art News, Platform Magazine, and the Hindustan Times.
Adana Tillman (b. 1985) a textile and fiber artist, explores the journey of identity through her figurative portraits. Tillman uses found fabrics to tell stories of the African Diaspora, exploring fashion and identity. Mixing bold patterns, colors and beadwork, she shows how Black people in her works are living out loud and unapologetically. Tillman’s mastery of quilting, embroidery and hand dyeing her materials are all skills that have been passed down from her mother. Most recently, Adana Tillman’s work was featured in the Resting Our Eyes group exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco curated by Autumn Breon and Tahirah Rasheed.
Tillman works have been exhibited at EXPO CHICAGO and Fog Design+ Art in San Francisco. She was a Leña artist-in-residence, a TILA Garden Fellow and also completed another artist-in-residency in Berlin. In the fall of 2023, Adana Tillman had her debut solo presentation, I AM EVERYDAY PEOPLE at Jonathan Carver Moore. Her works have been featured in CULTURED, Essence Magazine, The SF Examiner,48 Hills, Akron Beacon Journal and more. Most recently Tillman showcased work at the 60th Venice Biennale in the historic Palazzo Bembo. She was also a part of group exhibition at Apple HQ in Cupertino, CA.
Aplerh-Doku Borlabi aka Doku (b. 1987) is a Ghanaian artist based out of Accra. Borlabi is most known for his figurative oil paintings and his use of coconut sheath to create his subjects’ varying Black complexions. The complex properties of the coconut sheath’s multiple layers, longhairs, and varying shades of brown whimsically renders skin texture and bone structure, while emulating the way natural light surfaces on skin. Having attended Ghanatta College of Arts and Design he found a way to embody his own culture and ethnic identity into his practice. In April of 2023, Borlabi was a part of the group show Black as an Experience, Not as a Color at Jonathan Carver Moore gallery and he has been featured in JUXTAPOZ, FAD Magazine, KQED, The San Francisco Chronicle and SF Examiner. Borlabi's work is in the permanent collection of the de Young Museum and private collections worldwide.