James Maurelle, Passage, 2020. blood, wood, adhesive, paint, and seaweed, 14.5 x 22.5 x 17 inches. Photo by Karen Mauch.
Opening Reception for James Maurelle: On-Site
Friday, September 17, 6-8pm
RSVP here*
Please join us for the opening reception for On-Site, a solo exhibition by James Maurelle, curated and mentored by Odili Donald Odita. The exhibition consists of sculptures and prints crafted from materials such as wood, metal, and found objects that weld form and function with Black cultural histories. Through a formal engagement with a vernacular derived from Black American traditions of making and African woodworking traditions, the work celebrates methods of defiance and achievement in the face of oppressive systems and structures, speaking to what Odita refers to as “the poetics of Black people and the Black experience.”
A maximum of 50 people will be admitted at a time. No appointment is necessary, but we do appreciate RSVPs. There may be a wait to enter if the gallery is at full capacity.
*Health and safety protocols for gallery visitors during opening reception
Please note, masks or face coverings are mandatory upon entry regardless of vaccination status. An optional hands-free thermometer is available upon entry. We will also continue to gather personal information for contact tracing. If you think you have a fever, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19, please don’t visit the gallery. Thank you for your cooperation and we look forward to seeing you in the gallery!
Hand sanitizer will be available. Checklists and press releases are available on our website. Limited printed copies will be available upon inquiry. If you think you have a fever, have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days, or have had close contact with anyone who is confirmed or suspected of having COVID-19, please don’t visit the gallery.
Access Notes
CUE Art Foundation is wheelchair accessible. There is an all-gender, ADA compliant, single-stall bathroom in the gallery. The space is not scent-free, but we do request that people attending come low-scent. The closest wheelchair-accessible MTA subway stations are Penn Station and Herald Square Station. If you have additional access questions or needs, please contact info@cueartfoundation.org (ideally with at least 48 hours before the event) and we will do our best to accommodate you.
James Maurelle is an interdisciplinary artist—sculpture, video, photography, and sound art are his analog and digital primes. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in New York, Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Austin, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Richmond, Cincinnati, and San Francisco. Maurelle received his BFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. He was a recipient of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture Fellowship in 2015.
Odili Donald Odita (b. Enugu, Nigeria; lives and works in Philadelphia) is an abstract painter whose work explores color, both in the figurative historical context and in the sociopolitical sense. He is best known for his large-scale canvases with kaleidoscopic patterns and vibrant hues, which he uses to reflect the human condition. For Odita, color is at once a distinct phenomenon and a vehicle for mirroring the complexity of the world. He has presented exhibitions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art (2021); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (2020-21); Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis (2020); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2019-21); Nasher Museum of Art, Duke University, Durham (2015–17); Savannah College of Art and Design (2012); and the New Orleans Museum of Art (2011), among other institutions. Odita is represented by Jack Shainman Gallery, New York.