OPENING RECEPTION: SHEILA PEPE invites SONDRA PERRY….

SHEILA PEPE invites SONDRA PERRY  —
Put me down Gently:
A Cooler Place + I’m Afraid I Can’t Do That

FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Patron & Member Preview: 6 PM
Artist’s Talk: 6:30 PM
Public Reception: 7 – 9 PM

Sheila Pepe’s exhibition at DiverseWorks is a commissioned installation that serves as an open meeting space and platform for several events, including a video installation by current MFAH Core Fellow Sondra Perry. With an interest in carving out space within solo exhibitions for young artists, Pepe invited Perry, working in video and performance, to respond to her augmented reinstallation of Put me down Gently, 2015. Each artist worked autonomously, yet their projects were hinged by shared resources, the color blue and an investment in improvisation within institutional frameworks. The exhibition evolved and two installations emerged – tethered to each other by ongoing conversations on craft, class, race, place and screens of projection.

Since the mid-1990s, Pepe has used feminist and craft traditions to investigate received notions of canonical artwork, as well as the artist’s relationship to museum display. For this exhibition, Pepe invites artists and participants to perform, explore, and discuss issues related to race and LGBTQ identity through a series of events that will take place within her installation. In addition, a live performance by Perry is scheduled for Friday, June 17 at 7pm in the DiverseWorks gallery at the MATCH, and Pepe’s first ever staged performance takes place on Saturday, June 18 at 3pm in Matchbox 1, to be followed by a community discussion.