Former Grant Wood Fellow in Painting & Drawing (2016-2017) and current Associate Professor with Tenure, T.J. Dedeaux-Norris, has work currently on display at the Charles Allis Art Museum (Phoenix) and the Des Moines Art Center. Their solo show, "Talk Back. Chapter One: Estate," is up from July 20, 2023, through January 7, 2024. Work from their "Estate of Tameka Jenean Norris" (2023) is installed as part of the "Transform Any Room" exhibition at the Des Moines Art Center from October 7, 2023, through January 14, 2024.
Talk Back
Chapter One: Estate
Charles Allis Art Museum
July 20, 2023 – January 7, 2024
The Allis Art Museum is embarking on a new three-part exhibition series titled "Talk Back,” creating space for contemporary art to “talk back” to the Museum— reflecting on the Allis estate, collection, and land.
The first chapter, "Estate” juxtaposes the work of mixed media artist T.J. Dedeaux-Norris with historical Allis mansion and the will of Sarah Ball Allis.
Explore the many selves of Dedeaux-Norris through painting, fiber, performance and time-based media installations "talking back" to the history of the Allis.
For the duration of the exhibition, the Allis will also have a library "pop-up" to pay homage to the Museum's past as former branch of the Milwaukee Public Library. Featuring books for all ages curated by the Allis, the "little" library will also exhibit archival photos exploring the Allis' community and history.
About the Artist:
T.J. Dedeaux-Norris is a mixed-media artist who employs painting, fiber, performance, video, and music to explore the somatic impacts of racial, gender, and class socialization. In form and content, their work poses a philosophical inquiry into the distinction between Self and Other, with the body as a social microcosm of distinct yet discursive dynamics to observe and question. Everything is both permeable and fractile.
Dedeaux-Norris completed their BA at University of California at Los Angeles and their MFA at Yale University. Their work has been presented internationally at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston, Mission Creek Festival, Nasher Museum of Art, Performa, Prospect New Orleans, Rotterdam Film Festival, The Studio Museum in Harlem, Sundance Film Festival, and The Walker Art Center - among other institutions. Dedeaux-Norris has participated in residencies at The Grant Wood Colony, MacDowell, Skowhegan, and Yaddo. They are a 2019-2020 Pollock-Krasner Foundation grantee, a 2022 Iowa Artist Fellow, and a tenured Associate Professor at University of Iowa.
Learn more by clicking on the link here.
Transform Any Room
Des Moines Art Center
October 7, 2023 – January 14, 2024
“Transform Any Room” features subversive, politicized, and sometimes glamorized versions of the textiles and objects we bring into our homes that inevitably reveal much about who we are and how we live.
Our lives and homes are filled with textiles such as rugs, blankets, pillows, and decorative crafts that, even if casually chosen for aesthetic or economic reasons, reveal much about who we are. These objects are often perceived as gendered, related to certain cultural backgrounds, or signals of social or economic status. Whether their initial inspiration is an object of utility, comfort, or décor, the resulting artworks included here comment on labor, wider social issues, and life events in this time and place. Sculpture, installation, and various forms of fiber work will be included in the exhibition, with many works defying easy categorization.
The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog and a roster of programming ranging from traditional artist lectures and gallery talks to qualitative art and activism workshops with teen artists and community partners. “Transform Any Room” is organized by Senior Curator Laura Burkhalter.
Learn more or take a virtual tour by clicking here.