Blackwell '95 Has Solo Show at MAD in NYC
Faculty member Josh Blackwell ’95 will have a solo exhibition at the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City this winter.
Opening on November 12, Neveruses Report Progress documents the evolution of his Neveruses series of wearable artwork, from his habit of collecting plastic bags off the street to embroidering the bags with increasingly intricate techniques to the dissemination of the work through performance and photography. For the first time, Blackwell will present drawings and photos alongside the plastic bags; he will also conduct a series of workshop/performance throughout the run of the show, the first of which is on December 3.
Additive and expressive, Blackwell’s interventions into and upon the form of the plastic bag—a globally ubiquitous symbol of capitalist waste—cohere into gorgeous, geometrically abstract compositions that intermix color, texture, and pattern.
Blackwell created Runaways a performance featuring a number of Bennington alumni, for Alumni Reunion weekend in September; a number of these dancers will be featured in the MAD events during the fun of Neveruses Report Progress.
Josh Blackwell: Neveruses Report Progress is the inaugural installation of MAD’s Process Lab, which the museum describes as “a new series exploring an individual artist’s practice (from inspiration to exhibition) in great depth.” The show runs through February 12.