Avani Patel: Connection
Evercore Artist Empowerment Award 2024

Connection is a solo exhibition by Avani Patel, presented at Evercore’s New York City offices.

Excerpt from Patel’s artist statement:

“Art has been an integral part of my life since I was young. I used to go to the theater with my sister for her rehearsals and dance shows. Seeing the colorful costumes, flowing dresses and festivity of these moments made me feel joyful; I felt as though the colors were speaking to me…

I often draw and paint things that I see in my everyday surroundings, personal experiences, and memories. I use mark-making and repetition as tools to signify change in nature, the passage of time, and the retention and rejection of memory. My work often takes the form of visual studies and drawings that I work on for months as a time. This process helps me understand colors and patterns, which then allows me to transfer my ideas to large-scale paintings and public projects.”

For inquiries, please email info@cueartfoundation.org.

About the Artist

Avani Patel was born in Mumbai, India and immigrated to Pennsylvania with her family at age eleven. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from University of Pennsylvania and Master of Fine Arts from the Tyler School of Art and Architecture at Temple University. Her paintings have been exhibited in New York, Providence, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Chicago, Dubai, Panama, Portugal, and Mexico. 

In 2005, Patel was invited by the American Embassy in Panama to hold workshops in schools and art centers, creating collaborative art installations about everyday objects that people encounter in their personal lives. In 2008 and 2009, she presented her work as part of the large-scale public project America’s Chinatown Voices at Columbus Park in New York City, organized by the Asian American Art Center. For this project, three hundred panels illustrating stories of Asian Americans in New York were publicly displayed in Chinatown. From 2002–2008, two of her paintings were on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Patel has participated in many artist residency programs, including with Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Chashama Visual Arts, and Triangle Workshop.

Artwork Images

Catalogue

About the Evercore Artist Empowerment Award

The Evercore Artist Empowerment Award is an opportunity that seeks to recognize and support artists at a critical point in their careers. Each six-month engagement at Evercore’s New York City offices provides a platform for artists to present a solo exhibition of their work, and in turn creates an unparalleled opportunity for the Evercore community to experience and engage with contemporary art.

Applications for the Evercore Artist Empowerment Award are accepted annually via an opt-in option on CUE’s Open Call for Solo Exhibitions.

The Evercore Artist Empowerment Award is an opportunity for artists who:

• Have not had a solo show in a commercial NYC gallery within the last five years

• Do not have current, consistent commercial gallery representation in the United States

• Are not currently enrolled in a degree program

• Have a demonstrated, consistent studio practice outside an academic setting for three or more years

• Currently live and work in the United States

Other Recent Artist Empowerment Award Recipients

Support

Programmatic support for CUE Art Foundation is provided by Evercore, Inc; The Milton and Sally Avery Arts Foundation; The William Talbott Hillman Foundation; and Corina Larkin & Nigel Dawn. Programs are also supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council; the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature; and the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Artist Empowerment Award was initiated by Corina Larkin, former Executive Director of CUE Art Foundation.