Family Ties : Detroit

David Klein Gallery, 1520 Washington Boulevard, Detroit, Michigan, is pleased to announce the opening of Family Ties, curated by Ebitenyefa Baralaye. The exhibition features ceramic sculpture by Shea Burke, Patrice Renee Washington, and Ebitenyefa Baralaye and paintings by Patrick Quarm.

Family Ties touches on the multi-layered bonds that connect those closest to us, our given and adopted family members, friends, and community. These bonds are manifested in traditions, shared history, common spaces, and elements of identity encompassing everything from the rituals and patterns of styling hair, the particulars of gathering places for food and meals, and the textures and shades of skin. The concept of family in this way defines itself in answering the question “Where and who are your people?” Apart from an interpretation of separation or divisiveness, this question is more productively understood as leaning in and drawing upon connections that are essential for unity, health and well-being, especially during a time when we as human beings need these things the most. …        -Ebitenyefa Baralaye, June 2022

 

Ebitenyefa Baralaye is a Detroit based ceramicist, sculptor, and educator. He holds a BFA in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI; and an MFA in ceramics from the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI.  Baralaye has been exhibited widely in the U.S. as well as in Korea and Canada including Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco, CA; Propeller Gallery, Toronto, Canada; Staple Goods, New Orleans, LA, and Greenpoint Gallery, New York, NY. Most recently, he curated the exhibition, Family Ties, for David Klein Gallery, Detroit. He is currently the section head of Ceramics at the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI.  Baralaye is represented by David Klein Gallery, Detroit, MI and Friedman Benda, New York, NY.

 

Shea Burke holds a BFA from Alfred University and an MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. They have participated in multiple exhibitions including Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL; Harvard Ceramics, Cambridge, MA; Ikeda Gallery, Manhattan, KS; Alfred University, Alfred, NY; and SAIC, Chicago, IL. They were the recipient of a Zenobia Award for a residency at Watershed Ceramics in 2018 and was a Studio Fellow at Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN.

Burke, a native of Rochester, NY currently resides in Cambridge MA, where they are Artist In Residence at Harvard Ceramics.

 

Patrick Quarm is from the Republic of Ghana in West Africa. He received at BFA in Painting from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana and holds an MFA in Painting from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. Quarm’s work has been exhibited in the United States, Ghana and in Europe including Ross+Kramer Gallery, New York, NY;  Albertz Benda Gallery, New York, NY; N’Namdi Contemporary Miami, Miami, FL; Trout Museum of Art, Appleton, WI; Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London, England;  K.N.U.S.T Museum Kumasi, Ghana;  Kunstraum Potsdam, Berlin; Library Street Collective, Detroit, MI; and the Urban Institute of Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI.  His work is in multiple public and private collections including the Syracuse University Museum, Kalamazoo Institute of Art, and Kemper Museum collection.  Residencies include artist-in-residence at the Red Bull Artist Residency, Detroit and the prestigious NXTHVN Fellowship in New Haven, Ct. Quarm currently lives and works in Ghana and in the United States.

 

Patrice Renee Washington, a native of Chicago, IL, holds a BFA from Metropolitan State University, Denver, CO and an MFA from Columbia University, New York, NY.  Washington has shown in the United States and Canada including exhibitions at Marinaro, New York, NY;  Underdonk Gallery, New York, NY;  The New Gallery, Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Mindy Solomon Gallery, Miami, FL; San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose CA; Forest City Gallery, London, Ontario, Canada; Zeitgeist Gallery, Nashville, TN, and the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts, Brooklyn, NY.  Her solo exhibition, Patrice Renee Washington: Charts, Parts, and Holders, was held at The Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, CO in 2018.  Residencies include Abrons Art Center, New York, NY; Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Aspen, CO; Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY; and The Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT.