Zsudayka Nzinga – Artist Reception “The Many Rooms”

ARTfactory to Present “The Many Rooms” Solo Mixed Media Exhibit by Zsudayka Nzinga
Exhibit dates: June 9-July 23

Artist Reception: Saturday, June 11, 6 pm – 8 pm
(9419 Battle St, Manassas, Free & open to the public)

The Many Rooms
“The Many Rooms” is a collection of mixed media pieces by Zsudayka Nzinga. Based on the scripture, “In my Father’s house there are many mansions/rooms” John 14, Nzinga observes experiences in her home and with family just prior to the pandemic through the new year. Finding inspiration from the little moments, Nzinga draws from the richness of American Black culture, covering mental health and isolation, class and social uprisings, watching riots and the aftermath from the perspective of her children and the many ways to revolt while finding the beauty in navigating the changing word. These are not sad or trauma-based pieces, but rather the ways we find inspiration when we are forced to look within. The subjects are surrounded in greenery and Afro Bohemian interior design and examine the ways in which we create safe spaces in our homes.

The paintings are made with acrylic, oil, paint marker, fabric, decorative paper, hand dyed paper, linocut stamp, thread, ink and digital transfer on canvas. Work is woven, quilted, sewn, painted and collaged on canvas surrounding photorealistic portraits that have been abstracted to mimic quilts. The pieces are mostly on loose canvas and designed to hang like quilts or fiber art. Some of the work emerges from the canvas or is composed of many canvases collaged together. They are a collection meant to archive a historic moment in this world, in this country and especially in Washington, DC from the viewpoint of a member of a forever changed community.

The series also includes interactive QR codes leading to video interviews, poetry, performance and music scored by Dorhan Cobb. The exhibition will expand this year to also include interactive renderings of the rooms. It’s an opportunity for visitors and viewers to place themselves in quarantine with Black Americans through the lens of Afro Bohemian Home Décor and Black American culture and its nods to both America and an idealized Africa.

About Zsudayka Nzinga
Zsudayka Nzinga is a fine artist, curator and educator from Denver, CO living in Washington, DC. Her work is largely focused on mixed media portraiture of American life including themes of motherhood and culture. Her pieces explore patterns and textures using acrylic, oil, decorative and hand dyed paper, fabric, thread and ink on canvas. She also makes jewelry using silver, wood, resin and precious stones. She is a proud mother of 3 children and wife to artist, James Terrell.

Artist Statement
I am a mixed media artist and designer. I consider my studio practice to be cultural anthropology in that I aim to capture and archive through my work the history and culture of Black Americans. I’m very interested in what happens when Black American artist work and narratives are included alongside American art without requiring the Black artist to center their identity in trauma or politics and whether the sight and existence of Black faces is enough to make our work, voice and existence inherently political. My works seeks to normalize the day to day of Black Americans and celebrate culture while also highlighting moments shared by all humans. We all sit in the house, we all water our plants, we are all living an existence with more similarities than differences. My work challenges viewers to include Black stories in American stories. Told through the lens of personal experience, I use acrylic, decorative paper, hand dyed paper, linocut stamp, ink, vinyl, marker, metal, fabric and thread to create images of proud and beautiful people who celebrate who they are. My sculpture and jewelry work uses metal and wire and precious gems.

My collage work often uses Chigiri to assemble initial layers of interior design and sometimes for complete portraits. I use African scraps of fabric to hint at the remnants of African identity but create new textile designs and interior aesthetics and clothing that are wholly American. I paint photorealistic portraits and then abstract the figures to look like quilted pieces of fabric. My work invites viewers to experience the ways that my friends and elders and peers decorate and design ourselves, our homes and our moments. It is a way to engage in our culture without a traumatic narrative attached.

Contact:
ARTfactory
Gallery Director: Jordan Exum
jexum@virginiaARTfactory.org
703-330-2787
Gallery Hours: Monday-Saturday, 10 am – 5 pm
9419 Battle St, Manassas, VA 20110
VirginiaARTfactory.org/manassas-art-gallery
Instagram: @virginiaartfactory