Fort Works Art



FORT WORKS ART


Sarcophagus of a Rhoman King, 2019

Sarcophagus of a Rhoman King, 2019


Fort Works Art - The Ruins of Burg Worth

Exhibition on Display: March 25 - April 29, 2023 | Works By: Joshua Goode

FORT WORKS ART is pleased to present THE RUINS OF BURG WORTH, a solo exhibition by North Texas artist and curator, Joshua Goode. Goode's first show at the gallery will feature a collection of created artifacts and remnants of an "ancient" past, while incorporating elements of performance art and an interactive installation. This exhibition opens on Gallery Night, Saturday, March 25, 2023, with a reception from 12 PM to 9 PM, and will be on display until Saturday, April 29, 2023.

THE RUINS OF BURG WORTH is a reimagined history of Fort Worth - one where our city sits upon an ancient fortress both destroyed and preserved by the eruption of Eagle Mountain. By creating sarcophagi and various remains reminiscent of the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D., Goode creates a new and imagined world that is full of extinct animals, objects, and artifacts. He challenges what we have learned throughout history in his development of these fictitious civilizations. Through his own research of local culture and his experience in the archaeological field, Goode aims to expose "the malleability of our past, present and future" and the ease at which history can be distorted.

Goode's work deals with intense themes of death, burial, preservation, and memory. Interwoven into this work are his personal memories and experiences from his youth, within his own family, and as a father. The exploration of these relationships, specifically that with his sister, informs his creations, and has been the cornerstone of his work since his early career. We see moments of a youth spent at Lakota Sioux sweat lodges, spiritual ceremonies, and religious rituals manifested in his hand-crafted leather and beadwork. We see his deep roots in North Texas that date back to the late 19th century, expressed in his selection of local found objects that he repurposes. Barn wood and even full-sized barn doors become "ancient" relics that all tie back to his family's history in the region, reaffirming the importance of materials used once upon a time.

Counter to these intense themes of shared existence, we see the more isolated parts of Goode's past. Dealing with such mature experiences as a child, he retreated into his own world by becoming engrossed in various television programming that provided him with comfort and distraction. These programs acted in opposition to his own often harsh realities and aided in developing a more humorous artistic language that is full of pop culture iconography.

Using humor to deflect the emotionally taxing aspects of his work, Goode is able to merge these worlds. This is clearly apparent in the piece "Hulktaur", a bronze sculpture representing an invented creature. Goode takes these physical manifestations further, by surrounding them with a contextual description. He describes this particular work as being, "Discovered during an excavation in London," and being "a representation of the legendary half man, half dinosaur, that were thought to inhabit remote wooded areas. In much of Rhoman art, they appear in combat with humans and, by implication, are the antithesis of civilized men." This tongue-in-cheek dialogue created by Goode in his work is both unique and relatable.

In announcing The Ruins of Burg Worth, Fort Works Art owner & director Lauren Saba stated, "The stories Goode creates concurrent with his artworks, take us on a journey to a new, yet ancient world. A journey where you can explore, imagine, and create. A world where your most vivid imaginations are physicalized, and your mind is allowed to dream."

Inspired by 19th - century natural history museums, Goode will display a wide variety of "discoveries", which at first glance, are both curious and deceptive. The exhibition will include various collections of items, including cast bronze works that are tarnished with the green coating of oxidation, smaller pewter works hand-painted with gold, and larger works displayed with a monumental significance that is indicative of a more developed and evolved civilization from the past. These treasures will be presented as invaluable mementos. By bearing witness to these recently uncovered and impressively intact relics, the viewer can act as the expert historian, archaeologist, or even storyteller, as conversations of a shared history are prompted.

Combined with the works Goode will have on display, there will also be an installation that will allow visitors to participate in the "discovery" of a selection of artifacts. These interactive elements will allow each individual to leave traces of their presence at the exhibition, and the gallery will be transformed into a collaborative art incubator for the community.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Fort Worth, Texas in 1981, Joshua Goode is researching and developing mythic historical misinterpretations and manipulations. Having studied history and worked as an archaeologist on many actual excavations, he conducts staged excavations around the world, working with the community as a performance. His ‘artifacts' have been exhibited in solo exhibitions in international venues such as the Razliv Museum, St. Petersburg, (Russia); Capellades Museum, Barcelona, (Spain); Zendai Museum of Modern Art,Shanghai, (China); Darb 1718 in Cairo, (Egypt); LaSala Gallery, Zaragoza, (Spain); Galerija Miroslav Kraljevic, Zagreb, (Croatia); Borey Gallery, St. Petersburg, (Russia),the Monchskirchein Museum, Salzwedel, (Germany), James Freeman Gallery, London, (England), Maxim Boxer Gallery, Moscow, (Russia), Galerie Van Caelenberg, Aalst (Belgium), and Ivy Brown Gallery, New York, (USA).

Goode received his MFA from Boston University and has participated in residencies in Russia, Germany, Finland, Norway, and Spain and was a researcher on an archaeological dig for the University of Tübingen at Vogelherd Cave in Germany. He received the Dozier Award from the Dallas Museum of Art and is currently the Chair of the Fine Arts Department at Tarrant County College in Fort Worth, Texas.

 

Tejuola, Scary Curl

Tejuola, Scary Curl


Fort Works Art - Michele Tejuola Turner: Lines Of Descent

Exhibition on Display: March 25th - April 29, 2023 | Works By: Michele Tejuola Turner

FORT WORKS ART is pleased to announce artist Michele Tejuola Turner's first solo exhibition in the North Texas region, TEJUOLA: LINES OF DESCENT. This exhibition is a retrospective with works spanning a period of over four decades and will be an intimate display of around a dozen gourds, each one recounting personal and collective narratives. Lines of Descent opens on Gallery Night, Saturday, March 25, 2023, with a reception from 12:00 PM to 9:00 PM, and will be on display until Saturday, April 29, 2023.

Tejuola does not fit into any established categories within the art world. Her chosen media is American gourds and African calabashes, which are carved, and hand-painted with narratives of ancestry relating to the African and African American experience. She elevates this traditional craft above that of just an artisan into one of an artist. This is done through her intricate and sophisticated figuration coupled with design elements that together create a visual vocabulary that transforms the craft into fine art.

At the heart of her work, Tejuola is a storyteller. She does not shy away from any subject material and directly addresses issues dealing with diaspora, race, motherhood, and femininity. She explores the intersections of her identity, her ancestors, and the stories of people who could have been her predecessors. Tejuola's commitment to the organic vessels as her medium displays her devotion to maintaining a connection with her cultural heritage, highlighting "the land and stories that inspire [her]."

Influenced by her early exposure to African culture at the African American Community Center in Atlanta, her ideas began to formulate. Through dance, music, and other various classes at the center, Tejuola met many individuals who would prove to be her mentors in their teachings about their African heritage and culture. She was exposed extensively to the Yoruba priesthood and the dancing and singing that she experienced during the initiation ceremonies had a profound effect on her and the stories that she wanted to begin telling. Her fascination with African myths and folktales began to be explored through her carving and painting of the gourds. It was her way to understand the stories she was hearing in order to create her own personal references to remember.

Tejuola explains the inspiration for these pieces. She says, "Stories drive me. My early work was inspired by stories from West African religion and mythology. In recent years, my focus has shifted to sharing stories that connect to my ancestral past and capture my experiences as an African American woman..."

Seeing that the arduous task of drying the gourd properly to carve, and the physical strength necessary to carve this substrate exists, it is typically dominated by male carvers of the craft. Tejuola is a diminutive figure with an internal roar that is seeking attention for these works and these stories. She has had to find a way to work around this limitation in order to refine her designs and create the depth she seeks in her art. She has achieved this by using an electric tool that gives her a truly unique signature in her carving process, allowing her cuts to be both deep and delicate. After the images and words are engraved to her satisfaction, Tejuola uses acrylic paint to create further dimension and intricacy, pushing her ideas and stories to completion.

In announcing Lines of Descent, Fort Works Art owner & director Lauren Saba stated, "The intensity of Tejuola's work and rich storytelling can only be understood by looking at these works physically. They have a tactile nature that you want to touch and explore, but instead must remain separated from, only allowed to serve as an observer and a student of her stories. She does not shy away from difficult subject matter and where the audience might relate to some of the themes, most of the stories her work is telling are things many people would rather not discuss. Her ultimate end is to have the world not forget her ancestry."

Tejuola has had an impressive museum exhibition history, including a major solo exhibition in 2002 when the St. James Museum was reopened as The Cameron Art Museum. She just completed her second show with the Museum in 2022 and is held in their permanent collection, as well as other major museum collections. Her work in the expansive Mott-Walsh Collection will be shown alongside some of the most notable artists whose intercultural experiences have permeated their art in remarkable ways in late 2023.

Showing her work in Fort Worth at FWA will be the first time for the artist to work with a commercial gallery and have her works offered to the public.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Michele Tejuola Turner was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, the child of two Southern emigres. After graduating from the renowned Cass Technical High School in 1974 and the College of Art and Design in 1978, she worked in retail advertising and designed catalogs and other collateral for department stores. While working in Atlanta, she became intrigued by West African culture and stories and the connections she saw to her own story as a descendant of enslaved West Africans.

In 1993, Tejuola was one of eleven recipients to receive the prestigious Arts International Travel Grant which gave her the opportunity to travel to Nigeria and Ghana, Africa. While there, she was instructed by elder gourd artists, studied Islamic techniques, and was surrounded by the Yoruba culture, all with the goal of learning the various functions of the gourd.

Tejuola's works have been shown in context in Museum shows with artists including Kehinde Wiley, Beauford Delaney, Omar Victor Diop, Awol Erizku, Jacob Lawrence, Christopher Myers, Ebony G. Patterson, Howardena Pindell, Alison Saar, Yinka Shonibare, and Mildred Thompson, among others.

 

ABOUT FORT WORKS ART

Fort Works Art is committed to bringing life, vitality, and energy to the art scene in Fort Worth, TX. They are a resource for both seasoned collectors and the everyday individual. Existing somewhere between a gallery, a cultural center, and a museum, Fort Works Art strives to continually evolve into its own entity, free from the traditional labels of the art world. They exist to support the arts, to give back to the community, and to inspire youth.

Fort Works Art
2100 Montgomery Street
Fort Worth, Texas, 76107
Gallery Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 11 am - 5 pm;

 

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