“My process is informed by taking things apart, removing, replacing, cutting, pasting, sewing, and building, in order to discover the space where transitions occur and where stories of impermanence unfold.” - ADIA MILLETT
Weaving threads of African American experiences with broader ideas of identity, and collective history, my work investigates the fragile interconnectivity among all living things. Fragmented, constructed, and reassembled, I shed light on the multifaceted and complex parallels between the creative process and the nature of personal identity. My paintings feature abstracted, geometric shapes that imply movement – colorful forms expand and collapse freely among glittery backgrounds with hints of landscape and structural objects such as rooftops, windows and doors. While the textiles draw on the domestic and artistic traditions of quilt-making, they are pieced together, combining culturally diverse fabrics. While my work pays homage to the past through the use of repurposed fabrics and historical iconography, its bright atheistic imagery is informed by the future. The art reminds us of the importance of renewal and rebuilding, not only through the artistic process, but also through the possibility of transformative change.
Bio:
Adia Millett, originally from Los Angeles, California received her BFA from the University of California at Berkeley and an MFA from the California Institute of Arts. She is a recent recipient of the Anonymous Was A Woman Award. Millett’s recent solo exhibitions include shows at The California African American Museum, The San Jose Quilt and Textile Museum, Galerie Du Monde in Hong Kong, ICA in San Jose and Haines Gallery in San Francisco. She has been included in exhibitions at the Oakland Museum, The Museum of African Diaspora, PS1, The Studio Museum in Harlem, The Craft and Folk Museum in LA; The New Museum, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta; The Contemporary Art Center, New Orleans, the Contemporary Art Center of Virginia. Millett has taught at Columbia College in Chicago, UC Santa Cruz, Cooper Union in NY, and California College of the Arts. Millett currently resides in Oakland, California.
