VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Beginning August 28, Spacetaker will host Thrice Removed, a solo exhibition by multi-media artist Lovie Olivia, as a part of its new ARC Exhibition series.

A play on the phrase “twice removed” denoting familial relations through a system of “removals,” Olivia re-contextualizes this terminology to imply separation from African traditions and customs, male authority, and heterosexual privilege in this new solo show. Her work explores the multi-dimensionality of women of African Diaspora in light of the challenges and joy associated with a hybridized presence.

Part autobiographical-part objective, Olivia zeroes in on the complex histories of racism, sexism, and classism in America, which intersect for ‘thrice’ the barrier to equal opportunity. Her exhibition, influenced by recorded conversations, video footage, folklore, and ancestral documents, redefines these selves outside conventional depictions in a celebration of identity.

The Opening Reception for Thrice Removed is Saturday, August 28 from 6 to 8 p.m. and the exhibition will be up at Spacetaker’s ARC Gallery through September 18, 2010.

About the Artist: Lovie Olivia, a Houston native, has been a working artist since her teenage years. A self-proclaimed, autodidactic, Olivia uses her independent studies of art, cultures, music, literature and history to inspire her works. She has exhibited her works at The Community Artist Collective (CAC), Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH), Arthello Beck Gallery in Dallas, Project Row Houses, and most recently at Lawndale Art Center in a collective show entitled “Dare to go Further.”

Learn more about Olivia at www.lovieolivia.com.