Image courtesy of the artist
growing out of season by Sri Kodakalla will be on view from October 6-26 at New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery. Through mixed-media installation and vignette storytelling, growing out of season, a solo exhibition of new work by Charlottesville-based artist Sri Kodakalla, explores the decomposition and evolution of a specific memory from the artist's childhood, re-contextualized under immigration growing pains and the multiplicity of compounded grief.
New City Arts' Welcome Gallery
114 3rd St. NE, Charlottesville, VA 22902
First Fridays
October 6 from 5-7:30PM; Artist talk at 6PM.
Free and open to the public. All ages welcome.
Gallery Hours
Wednesday-Saturday from 10AM-5PM
Exhibition Events
Reshaping Memory: A Creative Writing Workshop with Sri Kodakalla: October 11
Reshaping Memory: A Creative Writing Workshop with Sri Kodakalla: October 21
Visitor Guide
Before stepping foot in the gallery, visitors will encounter a mural on the large storefront window. Upon entering, they will see vibrant, illustrative work mimicking real life—a bedroom installation with the illusion of someone lying down, a papier mâchè altar, windows and curtains hanging from the ceiling, small clay sculptures on the walls. These bright, colorful works initially evoke whimsy, but take on a weightier, emotion-laden affect within the work’s context of memory and grief. With this understanding, viewers recognize that the bed is a deathbed, and witness a grieving ritual as they take in the film projected on curtains.
All ages are welcome to engage with this exhibition. Close adult supervision will be necessary as much of the work is within reach of children. This exhibition addresses themes of death, memory, and grief. You are welcome to reach out to staff with any questions prior to visiting.
Sponsors
This exhibition is presented by The FUNd at CACF.
Exhibition Statement (courtesy of the artist)
Memories are living, breathing entities that source nourishment from the stories we tell about them.
Through mixed-media installation and narrative storytelling, this intimate exhibition, growing out of season, explores the decomposition and evolution of a specific memory from the artist’s childhood, re-contextualized under immigration growing pains and the multiplicity of compounded grief. Guiding the viewer through fractals of this memory, the artist filters the audience through the lens of an uncharacteristically dark and whimsical reverence for the expansive and often contradictory processes of mourning. The exhibition expresses the cognitive dysphoria of acknowledging the inevitable decay of our memories while holding on (a little too closely) to our nostalgia for them.
About the Artist (courtesy of the artist)
Currently based in Charlottesville, VA, Sri Kodakalla (they/them) is a South Asian interdisciplinary artist, community organizer, and covetor of all things tiny & memorable. Their multimodal creative work combines mixed-media visual art, writing, and research-based methodology to compose non-narrative dream-like evocations of memories, often depicting facets of their immigration experience, cultural homecoming, and familial oral stories. Their work has been exhibited nationally in several solo and group exhibitions, most notably at Second Street Gallery and 934 Gallery.
Photos by Stacey Evans Photography.
Located at 114 3rd St. NE on Charlottesville’s downtown pedestrian mall, New City Arts’ Welcome Gallery supports artists who live in the Charlottesville area. Welcome Gallery exhibitions and programs are made possible by generous sponsors, donors, and grants. Interested in sponsoring an exhibition? Connect with us!