ARTIST BIO
Gemynii is a sound curator and self taught visual artist who creates paintings that center faces and figures of people of color with a focus on black femmes. Her work is heavily influenced by social justice issues, black culture, and representation of bodies of color within a white supremacist capitalist society through the lense of a fat black queer femme. She currently lives and creates in Durham,NC where she recently finished her first art residency with the Durham Art Guild.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Growing up, my education and experience with the art world was very white washed. Every important painter and image never seemed to look anything like me. Later as an adult when I discovered my love for painting, I was immediately drawn to creating images that I could relate to. My work has always been centered on Blackness. The images I create are about empowering, celebrating, and uplifting people of color through visual representation. My work is often a response to past and present social justice issues, body positive representation, and current culture. I also aim to show the beauty of women with bellies, people with scars, darker skin, big lips and noses, unprocessed hair, unshaved legs and arms, queer bodies, and to the revolutionary act of self love. My work demonstrates the significance of narrating our own stories and asserting the ways that we want to be represented. I mainly use acrylic when painting my subjects and never sketch anything out beforehand. I free-style every painting using layering of shapes and shadows to create a likeness to the photos I base them from. This kind of process reminds me daily of how even our mistakes or “imperfections” make us into the beautiful creations we are as human beings. I never seek perfection in my work, nor do I feel like they are ever truly finished.
ARTIST CV
EXHIBITS -
2013
- Group exhibition, Pitch Media Art Gallery, Raleigh NC
- Group exhibition,The Carrack Art Gallery, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, Market Street Coffeehouse, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, RAW, Raleigh, NC
- Solo exhibition, Blue Coffee Cafe, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, Duke University Hospital, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, Durham People’s Channel, Durham NC
2014
- Solo exhibition, Durham People’s Channel, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, RAW, Raleigh NC
- Group exhibition, RAW, Brooklyn NY
- Group exhibition,Tama Arts Festival, Brooklyn NY
- Group exhibition, Delta Arts Center, Winston Salem NC
- Group exhibition, Hairizon, Durham NC
2015
- Solo exhibition, Sehiii Art Gallery, Brooklyn NY
- Group exhibition, RAW, Raleigh NC
- Group exhibition, Duke University Hospital, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, Common Ground Theater, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, Golden Belt Art Studios, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, The Green Monkey, Raleigh NC
- Solo exhibition, The Remedy Diner, Raleigh NC
- Group exhibition, Hyde Park Community Center, Chicago IL
- Group exhibition, The Carrack Modern Art Gallery, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, The Vault, Durham NC
2016
- Group exhibition, The Carrack Modern Art Gallery, Durham NC
- Solo exhibition, City of Ink (Castleberry Hill), Atlanta GA
- Solo exhibition, Apache Cafe, Atlanta GA
- Group exhibition, The Vault, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, Arcana, Durham NC
- Two-Person exhibition, Dogstar Tattoo, Durham NC
2017
- Solo exhibition, UnSpoken, University of North Carolina Wilmington, Upperman Center, Wilmington NC
- Solo exhibition, Golden Belt Studios, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, The Carrack Modern Art Gallery, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, The Vault, Durham NC
- Two-Person exhibition, Bull City Ciderworks
- Group exhibition, Durham Public Library, Durham NC
- Group exhibition, Durham Artist Guild, Durham NC
2018
- Group exhibition, The History of Hip Hop in Durham, The Durham History Museum (Forthcoming)
PRESS/MEDIA/COVERS
2015
- Cover of March issue of Oak City Hustle
- Artist highlight with AFROPUNK
- Live painting in music video for Suede Jury, Outrage. Brooklyn NY
- Live painting in music video for Pat Junior, Open Hand of Spades. Durham, NC
- Local cable show GEMYNII on The Durham’s People Channel
2016
- May cover of Oak City Hustle/Booklet cover for Art of Cool Festival
- Book Cover of “Everything Worth Fighting For” by Dasan Ahanu
- Interview with Flowering Concrete - Artist Behind “Everything Worth Fighting For”
COLLECTORS -
Felicia Smallwood “The Promise”
Angel Dozier “Biggie”, Custom Portrait
Dr. Nicole Swiner “Grace Jones”
Dr. Cicely Mitchell “Ali”
Sarah Rogers “Whats The Tea?”
Lynne Denise “Lynne”
Debbie Boxhill “Sheeva”
Michelle Lanier “Lemonade” “Solange”
Phil Cook “Betty Davis”
Dr. Margaret Brunson “Towards the Sun”
EDUCATION -
2007
- Elizabeth City State University, B.A -ENG
2012
- University of Phoenix, M.Ed -Adult Education/Training
WORKSHOPS -
2014
- Paint & Pour. The Scrap Exchange. Durham, NC
- Therapeutic Mediation & Art Workshop. 1105 Wellness Center. Durham NC
2015
- Paint & Pour. The Scrap Exchange. Durham, NC
- Therapeutic Mediation & Art Workshop. 1105 Wellness Center. Durham NC
- 1k Words Art Workshop. JCarnial Events. Durham NC
- Ark workshop for the 1st Annual Youth Power Convention. Hayti Heritage Center. Durham, NC
- Radical Voice & Artistic Expression Workshop. The Vault. Durham, NC
2017
- Art Against Gentrification. Durham Freedom School. Durham NC
- As As A Release. Teen Club- Boys & Girls Club. Raleigh NC
AWARDS/ACHIEVEMENTS
2013
- Director's Highlight at the 5th annual Raleigh RAW awards. Raleigh NC
2014
- 2nd place at the Oak City Hustle Art Battle. Raleigh NC
2015
- 2nd place in the Art of Cool Art Contest with Pleiades Art Gallery.
2016
- Book Cover edition of “12 Years a Slave” for Recovering The Classics chosen as display art for the New York Public Library system.
2017
- 1st place winner of the 63rd Annual Juried Art Exhibit at Durham Artist Guild