Image courtesy of the artist
From January 6-27, 2023, New City Arts presented From Her to My Niece, an exhibition of work by JaVori Warren.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Fridays
January 6 from 5-7:30PM; Artist talk at 6PM
Free and open to the public. All ages welcome.
Gallery Hours
Wednesday-Friday from 10AM-5PM; Saturday from 10AM-2PM
Exhibition Events
New City Arts & Crafts: Jan 25 at 10AM
Intergenerational Community Workshop on Love with JaVori Warren: Jan 26 at 6PM
Covid-19 Visitor Policy
Masks are encouraged for all visitors. Please do not come to Welcome Gallery if you have been exposed to COVID-19, are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, or have been advised to isolate or quarantine.
Listen to the Exhibition Playlist 🎧
About the Artist (courtesy of the artist)
JaVori Warren (she/her) is a painter from Long Island, New York based in Charlottesville and Northern Virginia. She focuses on portraiture and representations of Black people with particular regard for politics and history. Warren received Bachelor of Arts degrees in Studio Art and Government from the University of Virginia in the fall of 2020. Most recently, she was a 2021-2022 Artist-In-Residence under the Freeman Artist Residency.
Exhibition Statement (courtesy of the artist)
After forced isolation
Divine intervention
I finally left to talk to Her
My ancestors who I know so well
I do not need to know their names
Because we share the same face
The mother of my mother’s grandmother’s mother
Her.
We hold hands
We spin around
We dance
Our feet bare upon the ground
We compare the length of our digits
We press together the tips of our nose
We stand on the tips of our toes
We say the same prayers
To the same God
The Great Spirit rest on their side
And smiles while listening to us struggle
Our hearts have broken in the same places
Our nights are the same lengths
I ask her questions we both seek to answer
There is a year of silence.
“It’s getting heavy. Put it down.
And when you’re ready,
Pick it back up.”
JaVori Warren’s latest paintings commemorate the love used to raise her. By highlighting the intimacy of witnessing the life journeys of the people around you, Warren creates portraits that challenge depictions of Black womanhood within the art canon. These works are inspired by the conversations between Warren and her older sister, in their newest roles of auntie and mother, as they evaluate their upbringing for traditions that deserve to continue. Each painting builds on Warren’s previous thinking about collective memory and the power of invisible ancestral figures, with a new focus on the relationship between race and gender.
Photos by Lindsey Leahy.
This exhibition was made possible with support from the Bama Works Fund of the Dave Matthews Band at the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.
