Join us for an engaging evening as we delve into the creative practice of visual artist Ayanah Moor. This thought-provoking conversation will explore social abstraction, reimagining the history of abstraction as a site that can contain formations of identity, such as race and gender.

Moor’s approach to painting centers the poetics of Blackness and queerness, questioning how such concepts are made legible and how their boundaries might shift.

According to Sampada Aranke, “Moor pushes abstraction to an edge, and in so doing, creates a suspended space of interaction between formal considerations and their social activations.”

Moor’s use of collage (sourced from Ebony and Jet magazine), and visual techniques including pattern, drips and pools of color offer a commentary on representation and visual complexity.

Whether you’re an artist seeking fresh perspectives, a creative eager to explore new ideas, or simply someone intrigued by the power of art to shape social discourse, this event offers a welcoming space for all.

BIOS:

Ayanah Moor, a Chicago-based visual artist, boasts a prestigious presence in permanent collections worldwide, including the Capital Group (Los Angeles), DePaul Art Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography (Chicago). Her solo exhibitions, such as “Undercover” at Manetti Shrem Museum of Art (Davis, California), “Bless Your Heart” at RUSCHMAN (Chicago), and “I Wish I Could Be You More Often” at Cleve Carney Museum of Art (Glen Ellyn), showcase her artistic prowess. Moor has participated in notable group shows at institutions like the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and the Studio Museum in Harlem. Her impactful work has garnered attention in publications like LA Weekly, ARTFORUM.com, and academic texts. Moor holds an MFA from Tyler School of Art and a BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University. Ayanah is a 2024 Artist-in-Residence at Arts + Public Life

Sampada Aranke is an Associate Professor of Art History and Comparative Studies at The Ohio State University. Her research interests include performance theories of embodiment, visual culture, and black cultural and aesthetic theory. Her work has been published in e-flux, Artforum, Art Journal, ASAP/J, and October. She has written catalogue essays for Sadie Barnette, Betye Saar, Rashid Johnson, Faith Ringgold, Kambui Olujimi, Sable Elyse Smith, and Zachary Fabri. She is the recipient of the 2021 Art Journal award for her article “Blackouts and Other Visual Escapes.” Her book, Death’s Futurity: The Visual Life of Black Power (Duke University Press, 2023) examines the ways artists and activists reconceptualized death as a generative visual and political force in the Black Power era.

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Tags: Arts + Public Life, Ayanah Moor, Chicago, Green Line Performing Arts Center, Sampada Aranke, Social Abstraction: Ayanah Moor & Sampada Aranke in Conversation, Washington Park