New Art Dealers Alliance Art Fair, Miami: Nyugen E. Smith
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Nyugen E. Smith
Monica Uszerowicz, Art in America, December 1, 2022 -
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Eileen Kinsella & Annie Armstrong, Artnet, December 2, 2021
For the New Art Dealers Alliance Art Fair, Miami, Carribean-American artist Nyugen E. Smith presents a solo installation of "Spirit Carriers," which were recently the subject of a solo project at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas. Smith began making the Spirit Carriers in 2016 as vessels to carry and protect the spirits of unarmed people of color killed by the police, until, as the artist says, "the spirits can go where they need to go."
Suspended from the ceiling, the sculptures seem to float in the space, like eccentric, improvised air balloons. Their characteristic shape derives from the crowns of Yoruba chiefs, whose beaded headdresses featured veils to shield the Oba's visage from the public, thus also protecting viewers from the chief's power.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of artwork from this series will be donated to The National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform.