Jul 21

Duwenavue Santé Johnson

Duwenavue Santé Johnson is a painter and fiber artist who has exhibited extensively in the United States and internationally in South Korea, Mexico, London, and Glasgow. Her work remains in the permanent collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and recent solo exhibitions include features at the Abington Art Center in Pennsylvania and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Notable awards and grants include the Mural Arts Black Fellowship and the Black Music City Grant Award. Duwenavue has been featured in the mass media through NPR, ABC, CBS, Good Morning America, and Fox news. She works for the Institute of Heraldry and creates handmade embroidery for the United States government, military leadership, and ceremonial flags - including for the United States president and vice president. Duwenavue is also represented by the Tigers Strikes Asteroid gallery in Philadelphia.

The art derives from the influence of cultures throughout the world. Inspired by the textiles, patterns, design elements, and painting techniques from various countries, Duwenavue creates her own contemporary standard of international expression. Because she has studied needlework techniques in Asia, Europe, and the United States, Duwenavue has obtained a well rounded understanding of creative principles. Through the paintings, the viewer will discover a colorful realm of circular patterns which are both symmetrical and asymmetrical. Incorporating both geometric abstraction and color field painting, she conveys an array of every tone imaginable including neon hues, pastels, muted and earth hues as well as primary colors.

Both the paintings and embroidery have irregular patterns and a variety of colors, however with the latter there remains the depiction of the integration of objective subject matter such as figures and environments. Using iconography reminiscent of early byzantine and medieval styles, the embroidery fiber art portrays geometrically shaped and angular figures which convey historical and sociological references. As with the dynamic paintings she conveys unique geometric and color patterns, Duwenavue creates cultured art which tells the history of nations and civilizational influences.

Not Forgotten (pictured above) remains an embroidery piece which makes references to ancestral ties. Like a depiction of an ancient Roman coin, the portrait conveys a confident character with a decorative and formal hairnet and necklace.The subject becomes surrounded by intricate dotted patterns and centralized through an oval reminiscent of a cherished locket. She can be described as an interesting figure who may not be a specific reference to any one person but represents a historical chronicle as the title suggests emotional connections to the direct past.

Duwenavue Santé Johnson creates fascinating art which bridges the gaps between civilizations in a multicultural display with an array of color and design. She expresses a range of emotional connections to the art ranging from joyful playfulness with rich tones to historical references and experimentation in hybridization of cultured patterns. These works convey a sense of artistic maturity towards understanding variety, nuance, and symbolic depictions in regards to contemporary aesthetics. Duwenavue sends the viewer on a journey to bridge connections of the cultural, historical, sociological, and artistic expressions of world cultures.