LaKela Brown presents two plaster bas-reliefs which echo the aesthetics of ancient Egyptian Greco-Roman friezes. Formal repetition of shapes cast in bright white plaster initially appear as an abstract visual language, however her process involves casting jewelry of the 1990’s hip hop era, such as bamboo earrings, gold-capped teeth, and rope necklace chains, alongside other relics frequently attributed to African-American culture. Gold acrylic paint on some of the earrings point to value structures and a symbol of social standing. These shapes are not arbitrarily chosen or collected, they hold a deep significance for the artist and culture she grew up in.

Mariah Dekkenga displays several paintings in oil on linen. Known for colorful geometric abstraction, her methodology builds upon color theory to present a vast range of hues in complex compositions. She has developed a personalized system of arriving at her configurations via computer software. Selected digital compositions are transferred by hand, fusing computerized color scales and painterly gestures. Rectilinear shapes divide the canvas the way multiple windows and tabs lie open on a computer screen. Paint on the surface appears as if it were printed over an abstract expressionist painting, creating continually shifting perception.

 Estefania Puerta’s compositions of dense and varied materials (both organic and inorganic) reflect her research and personal history of immigration and un-documentation in the United States. On view is a porcelain shoe-shaped sculpture that is a candle holder on one end, and a vase on the other, then placed in a design made of coffee grounds. Central to Puerta’s work is the human form and an effort to reclaim marginalized bodies from traditional representations. Puerta explains, “The whole question around holding and containment, and the way that those words can be so different from each other. What does it mean to be held, what does it mean to be contained—detained? The question around being trapped and being held can be so slippery sometimes. What does it look like to visualize both, together?” Also in the exhibition, several mixed media drawings depicting surreal

interpretations of female anatomy embrace the grotesque. Puerta accentuates toes, breasts, hair, and tears in rendering the human body vulnerable, yet self-healing.