The Charles Danforth Gallery

Radical Softness

Awarding winning Vermont artist Wylie Garcia explores identity and emotional spaces through painting, drawing and textiles.  

 

November 20 - December 19, 2019

Artist Talk and Opening Reception: Wednesday, November 20, 12:00-1:00pm (refreshments will be served)

Wylie Garcia will be visiting art classes the week of Tuesday, November 19 - Thursday, 21

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Bold, abstract, and colorful, the work of Wylie Garcia explores identity, gender, and emotional spaces. Garcia's work has appeared in both solo and group exhibitions across the U.S. and she has held art residencies as far away as Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. She previously showed her work in the group exhibit, "Unraveled: Contemporary New England Fiber Art," at the Old York Museum in York, Maine in 2014. Now, in Radical Softness, Garcia's first solo exhibition in Maine, the UMA Danforth Gallery showcases her sculptural dresses of rich satins and gauze, and her monumental paintings resembling textiles and tapestries. 

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The show gets its name from the quote by poet Lora Mathis, "Radical Softness as a Weapon." Garcia purchased a shirt with the quote on it, and it has since become a part of her artmaking uniform. Mathis' describes radical softness as "the idea that unapologetically sharing your emotions is...a way to combat the societal idea that feelings are a sign of weakness." In relation to this exhibition, Garcia refers to the quote as "a constant reminder to let my vulnerability be my strength" during her artmaking process. 

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Born and raised in Texas, and now living in Burlington, Vermont, Garcia earned her BA at the University of Chicago and her MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design. She won a 2016 Barbara Smail Fellowship and Award from the Burlington City Arts and won a 2016 Creation Grant from the Vermont Arts Council. This year, she received the prestigious Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant.