New City Arts presents huddle, an exhibit of works on empathy, action, and respect by Brielle DuFlon.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
Art on Display
Walk by Welcome Gallery at 114 3rd St. NE any time to see Brielle's work through the large storefront window.
See the exhibit virtually here.
Want to see the work up close? Private, in-person viewings will be available on weekdays between October 2 and October 30. To schedule an appointment, click on the button below.
Gallery Hours
Welcome Gallery is now open by appointment only. Schedule an in-person appointment to see the exhibit: Schedule Appointment
How to Purchase Work
Interested in purchasing a piece? Browse our store right here or email lindsey@newcityarts.org for information.
Exhibition Statement (provided by the artist)
huddle
verb: crowd together; nestle closely.
At this time when we struggle to safely gather, crowd or nestle, we sit apart and watch a wide range of challenges emerge in our country, worldwide, amongst our species. We, and those we know and love, are under a lot of stress. We pile one weight on top of another and wonder how we’re still standing and if we’ll make it through.
If we could come together, throw our arms around each other and bow our heads with the intention of unburdening our neighbors, friends, and family, there are quite a few places we could begin. We could start with oppression: systemic racism, white supremacy, militarized policing, mass incarceration, generational wealth, generational trauma, sexism, toxic masculinity, homophobia, disregard for human bodies and gender identities. We could talk about public health: how to protect one another from the unpredictable, dangerous Coronavirus in a dysfunctional healthcare system, how to care for and value our elderly, how to destigmatize mental healthcare and make it accessible. We could talk about how we treat our home, this planet: the condition of our water and air, the quality of our food and the health of our agricultural soil and our pollinators, the correlation between flooding, wildfires, deforestation and climate change. We could talk about the individuals and industries who disrespect us, who disregard our wellbeing, health, and humanity, who hold wealth but don't hold numbers and yet have a say in every aspect of our lives . We could cover all of this ground in one huddle because oppression, public health, climate change / environmentalism and capitalism are all deeply intertwined at the root. We cannot try to solve one without incorporating solving the other into our strategies.
I’ve got my arm tight around your shoulder, I feel your arm around mine. There’s a lot to do, yes. We can only do it together. The interconnectedness of it all is convenient, not discouraging. The changes we achieve together will carry momentum and create waves — as we focus on and tackle one issue we poke holes in other issues that take root in the same conditions. It will take time, and commitment, and passion — it will result in friendships, knowledge, balance, presence and power. There will be discomfort, which signals growth. We will experience fear, pain, anger, frustration and hopelessness — we will rest in shifts but never stop moving. It’s the best and only chance we’ve got.
About the Artist (provided by the artist)
I spent the first 18 years of my life in Antigua, Guatemala, and identify as a Third Culture Kid: a person caught between cultures, who carries both cultures inside them. I am Caucasian and have U.S. parents but carry Guatemala’s culture within me, and communicate artistically through the colors, textures and craft (weaving, embroidery, fiber) that were part of my every day, growing up in a small Central American town. In 2006 I moved to Charlottesville to attend U.Va. and after graduating in 2010, eventually settled here in 2012.
After many years of exploring medium after medium, and mixing media every which way, my work has handed itself over to texture, to accepting texture as an inevitable language that can form out of any material. My works are a marriage of my social and environmental concerns and passions and my love affair with color. Most of my textures come from repurposed and reclaimed material, single use plastics, found objects (both natural and manufactured), donated fibers, scraps of sentimental fabrics, thread (silk, cotton, wool), beads and paint.
I have a studio at McGuffey Art Center, where I currently serve as President, and own a small business named Window & Wing that revolves around custom handwoven and embroidered garments and goods.
Images courtesy of the artist.