ShowUp Presents Elisa H. Hamilton: Sightlines
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Boston – ShowUp is pleased to present Elisa H. Hamilton: Sightlines, a solo exhibition featuring the work of Massachusetts-based artist Elisa Hamilton. This first ShowUp exhibition featuring Hamilton runs from May 3 to June 2, 2024. An opening reception will be held May 3rd from 5 to 8 pm.
This entirely new body of work, premiering at ShowUp, features energetic abstract works on paper grounded in Hamilton’s consistent themes: storytelling, connection, and art as an ongoing conversation. These dynamic pieces celebrate color and form as Hamilton summons an intergenerational conversation between her own work and a remarkable piece of family history.
Hamilton says of her inspiration for the work in the exhibition, “The work that became Sightlines began when I rediscovered a quilt made by my great-grandmother; though she may not have thought of herself as an artist, her work speaks in the language of line and pattern, as mine does today. In this new body of work, I strive to speak back to her - to draw a connection, literally and figuratively, between Big Mama’s work and my own, and between my ancestors and myself.”
Hamilton defines sightline as an uninterrupted line of vision. Through her new collection of work featured at ShowUp, she “endeavors to retrace the unbroken line between my own lived experience and those who came before me… stitched lines, my drawn lines, bloodlines, and my family’s migration lines.”
ShowUp Founder and Executive Director Christine O’Donnell states, “Sightlines takes Hamilton’s confident use of color and line and explores a personally and objectively exceptional fiber art artifact. The ensuing works on paper are the records of Hamilton’s interactions with this time-honored family object. Thus, each piece represents not only an original work of art but also a bright line of familial connection where the artist has reached back to grab a thread of the past and pull it into her present artistic practice.”
Sightlines is on view at ShowUp from May 3 to June 2, 2024, in conjunction with a parallel solo exhibition, On Empathy, featuring the work of New York-based artist Sima I. Schloss. In addition to the opening reception on May 3rd, Hamilton will offer an in-person artist talk and quilt viewing during the month of May. Details forthcoming on ShowUp’s website.
About the Artist
Elisa H. Hamilton (she/her)is a socially engaged multimedia artist who creates artworks and community-centered programs that emphasize shared spaces and the hopeful examination of our everyday places, objects, and experiences. She holds a BFA in Painting from Massachusetts College of Art and Design and an MA in Civic Media from Emerson College.
Hamilton is a 2023 Brother Thomas Fellow, and she has been recognized by WBUR as one of 25 Artists Of Color Transforming The Cultural Landscape. Her work has been shown locally and nationally in solo and group exhibitions, and she has been the recipient of numerous commissions and grants to create artworks, community projects, and participatory programs. These works include “Jukebox,” a permanent public art commission for the City of Cambridge, and “Sound Lab,” a community-centered participatory art project that was commissioned by The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for inclusion in the exhibition "Listen Hear: The Art of Sound."
Hamilton also has created projects for institutions including ICA Boston, Boston Center for the Arts, The Currier Museum of Art, MIT List Visual Arts Center, Tyler School of Art, DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, The MGH Clay Center for Young Healthy Minds, Now+There, and For Freedoms. Her work is in the collections of Fidelity Investments, Bank of America and CitizenM Hotels.
About ShowUp
ShowUp is a groundbreaking contemporary art exhibition, education, and community-building space, creating an innovative environment for underrepresented artists' voices and visions.
Our mission is to
CONNECT artists to local communities and beyond
AMPLIFY artists and their voices
PROVIDE artists tools for self-sufficiency
EMPOWER artists and curators to experiment, learn, and have meaningful exchanges Learn more on our website and Instagram.
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