The Invisible Labor A Multicultural Group Exhibit Featuring 19 Mothers, Caregivers, and Nurturers
Co-curated by Christine Mitchell Adams + Tina Picz
Firefolk Arts, Waitsfield, VT | September 23 - November 1, 2023, during gallery hours. Reception on Saturday, September 23, 2-5 PM
This group exhibit includes a diversity of mediums and materials, exploring the theme of caregiving / parenting / nurturing. We attempt to validate the labor that often remains unnoticed, unthanked, unpaid, or overlooked… and the loss of identity that is commonly sensed by caregivers as they navigate the ebb and flow of both grief and joy.
Artists: Christine Mitchell Adams, Misoo Bang, Cynthia Cagle, Eva Zasloff, Chalice Mitchell, Renee Romero, Dawn Yow, Heather Gallagher, Whitney McGuire, Joetta Maue, Katrine Hildebrandt, Kate Holcomb Hale, Isabel Mattia / Birth Braid, Veronica A Pèrez, Stefania Urist, Ellen Kucera, Pamela Day, Tina Picz, Elisa Järnefelt
I Am Your Playground, solo show
Pierson Library, Shelburne, VT | August 26 - September 30, 2023, during library hours. Reception on Saturday, September 17, 3-4:30 PM.
I Am Your Playground explores the shifting sense of self and identity as a parent/caregiver within the lens of play. As a parent, your body is often at the mercy of your child’s play and exploration. You become a jungle gym to climb, a bridge to crawl under, a pony to ride on, a doll to dress up, a road to drive cars on, or playdough to manipulate. Through my drawings, I depict a variety of these very physical identities while also exploring the emotionality of them. There is the mental, emotional, and physical toll of the invisible labor of caregiving and parenting. Simultaneously, the fierce love and connection that is built through physical touch and being the safe space that fosters your child’s expansive imagination.
I hope this body of work prompts conversation for anyone wishing to engage: as our identities shift as parents, how does that influence our sense of self within and outside of our caregiving role? As we focus on the development and growth of our children and create environments for them to thrive, how do we also nurture our own growth?
Raw Emotion 23
Gallery Tempo, Jameson & Thompson, 18 Bartlett Square, Jamaica Plain, MA | May 3 - June 28, 2023
Raw Emotion 23 brings together 48 artists who identify as mothers, and whose creative visions are informed by this aspect of their lives. Drawing from literature and music along with the visual arts, this interdisciplinary exhibit illuminates motherhood refracted through a range of lenses: the artists’ own journeys raising children, their reflections on their relationships with their own mothers, and their interpretations of what it means to engage in the work of mothering. The result is a kaleidoscopic collaboration probing the intellectual, emotional, and political complexities of contemporary motherhood.
artists from left to right: Helena Wurzel, Christine Mitchell Adams, Kara Patrowicz, Erin Palazzolo Loparo
Full, Empty, In Between, solo show
Southern Vermont Art Center, Manchester, VT | May 28 - July 17, 2022
The following work was on view as part of my solo exhibition at the Southern Vermont Art Center. Archival framing of this work Axel’s Gallery & Frame Shop was made possible by support from a Development Grant through the Vermont Arts Council.
To learn more about my postpartum drawings, I welcome you to read my artist statement.
Gallery photos below are by Dave Barnum.
