SPACES WITHIN — Summer Invitational at City Gallery

[Jen Payne]

Featuring artists Susan Clinard, Shaunda Holloway, Linda Mickens

Every year, City Gallery opens its doors to guest artists in order to showcase innovative, local artists. In August, the gallery is honored to present SPACES WITHIN, featuring artists Susan Clinard, Shaunda Holloway, and Linda Mickens. The show runs August 4 - August 20, with an opening reception and artists talk on Saturday, August 5, 5:00 - 7:00 pm.

SPACES WITHIN showcases these three women artists who explore expressions of home, community, and heart. The artists utilize found objects, textiles, paper, wood, and clay to share their stories. They invite gallery visitors to embark on a profound journey of introspection and exploration. Nestled in the confines of this sleek minimalist gallery, they hope to transport guests beyond the physical boundaries of space, unraveling the depths of the human experience .

Susan Clinard is a contemporary American sculptor. Her life-scale figurative sculptures combine found objects, carved wood elements and fired ceramic heads and hands. Her compositions tell stories, helps us connect and speak about our shared humanity. Clinard’s work reflects the times in which we live. Susan is the winner of the national M.H. Hammerschal carving award and the Art by the Northeast award for sculpture. In 2015, she received the Arts Council of Greater NH artist award and IRIS’s Person of the Year honor. She has been the artist in residence at the Eli Whitney Museum for the past twelve years and has taught at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts and Gallery 37. She has received substantial public commissions, and her sculptures can be found in many private collections worldwide.

Shaunda Holloway (Sekai) is a multimedia artist/curator and writer born in New Haven. Her writing has been published in ESSENCE magazine, CT Post, Inner City, Stand Our Ground Poems for Trayvon Martin and Marissa Alexander and other publications. Holloway is a 2020 New Haven Arts Award recipient. Her paintings and prints have been exhibited throughout the east coast, including New Delhi, India.

Linda Vauters Mickens, an Art Activist, was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1954. Linda is an African-American sculptor and collage artist who uses mostly recycled materials. Interested in art from her early years, she attended classes at the School of Fine and Industrial Arts in Newark, as well as Montclair State University. Mostly self-taught, Linda retired from a nursing career in 2020. Her recent exhibitions include Made Visible Freedom Dreams (CAW), Seven Lenses (SCSU), and Truth in Three Colors (Ely Center of Contemporary Art:). Her work is in the Permanent Collection of The River Road African-American Museum, Donaldsonville, Louisiana. Linda recently launched Godblesstheirsoles collection, aiming to honor the indestructible spirit and rich culture of black folks. The collection is a reminder the Angels are everywhere and the stranger sitting next to you could be hiding a magnificent pair of wings.

SPACES WITHIN is free and open to the public, and will be on view August 4 - August 20, with an opening reception and artists talk on Saturday, August 5, 5:00 - 7:00 pm. City Gallery is located at 994 State Street, New Haven, CT 06511. Gallery hours are Friday - Sunday, 12pm - 4 pm, or by appointment. For further information please contact City Gallery, [e-mail], www.city-gallery.org.