Overview
Stephen Friedman Gallery presents Reverb, an exhibition bringing together new works by eight leading artists from the Caribbean diaspora: Julien Creuzet, Denzil Forrester, Hulda Guzmán, Suchitra Mattai, Zinzi Minott, Kathia St. Hilaire, Charmaine Watkiss and Alberta Whittle.
Comprising paintings, sculptures, mixed media and sound-based works, Reverb foregrounds the significance of contemporary art from the Caribbean region.
Drawing on the legacy of Life Between Islands at Tate Britain (2021) and Forecast Form at MCA Chicago (2022), the exhibition takes inspiration from Michael Veal’s (Professor of Ethnomusicology at Yale University) description of dub music and its use of reverb as a "sonic metaphor for the condition of diaspora." Reverb is a sound effect that occurs when sound waves bounce off surfaces and create a series of echoes that gradually fade away, making the listener feel like that like they are physically enveloped by sound. Julian Henriques (Professor at Goldsmiths, University of London) compares the visceral vibrations of Caribbean music to the far-reaching impact of its people and cultures, writing that “the dancehall session serves as a model for diasporic propagation”. Like ripples across the ocean, these reverberations communicate stories of identity, place and colonialism.
The show coincides with a major presentation by Grenada-born, British artist Denzil Forrester at Stephen Friedman Gallery and Andrew Kreps Gallery in New York. Reverb is accompanied by a new text written by Rianna Jade Parker.
