David B. Smith Gallery is excited to present an exhibition of new works by Brooklyn-based artist Molly Dilworth. The exhibition, titled Sans Souci, showcases Dilworth’s use of colorful, symbolic patterns and materials and continues the artist’s investigation of the history and contemporary ramifications of global trade, slavery, and the ethics concerning these issues.

Over the last year Dilworth has spent time in ports along the Hudson River, studying the history of commerce between the United States and Latin America, particularly the Caribbean. During this time, Dilworth began working with retired sails, and this exhibition features eleven large sailcloth flags, which fuse Dilworth’s use of geometric forms pulled from history and contemporary branding practices, with her study of the long history of trade between lower Manhattan and the Caribbean.

Titled after the French term for “carefree,” or “no worries,” Sans Souci also references the palace built by King Henri I, in the early nineteenth century in the decade following the Haitian Revolution. Henri I, one of the first leaders of Haiti following the victory over France, built the palace as a monument to the magnificence of the African Caribbean leadership. Thought to named after the palace of Frederick the Great in Potsdam, it itself a symbol of European Enlightenment, the Sans-Souci Palace was a site of great luxury, and simultaneously, a symbol of the autocratic rule of Henri I, whose forced labor policy of corvée closely mirrored the slavery that Haitians, including Henri I, had warred fiercely for over a decade to abolish.

This exhibition, in addition to the works on sailcloth, features three painted brocade banners, eleven stitched ribbon flags, a framed painting on paper, and 152 Kansas Patterns, a monumental series of small painted works, which Dilworth created as studies for her larger projects. All of the materials Dilworth employs are donated or sourced by the artist after they have been discarded from the industrial manufacturing process. Dilworth combines the materials of trade with the familiar geometric forms, which hint at the product branding for the goods and services permeating daily life. Sans Souci exemplifies Dilworth’s practice as a mindful, aesthetically stirring conflation of the goods which irrevocably surround us, their historical signifiers, and the importance of recognizing these patterns over time.

There is universal appeal to Dilworth’s beautifully bold, yet finely crafted textile-based works, and the deep-rooted contextual meanings accompanying each geometric composition and hand-stitched detail. Please join us for a reception with Molly Dilworth celebrating this exhibition of gorgeous new works, to be held at the gallery on Thursday, July 25, from 6 - 8 pm.

Molly Dilworth is a Brooklyn-based artist who views her creative practice as a form of research. Using data from a specific site as a structure, she gives form to things that invisibly motivate our actions. Throughout her practice, Dilworth has partnered with green building community organizations, climate change activists, arts organizations and government agencies to make public art pieces that address our relationship to history, nature and technology. From the rooftops of Brooklyn to the Pedestrian plazas of Times Square, Dilworth has created outdoor site-specific paintings in New York City and exhibited across the United States. She has been a resident artist at the Salina Art Center in Kansas and in the Art & Law Program with the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in NYC. Her work was part of Spontaneous Interventions: design actions for the common good in the U.S. Pavilion at the 13th International Venice Architecture Biennale. In the fall of 2012 Dilworth was the Recess Activities artist in residence at the Pioneer in Red Hook, Brooklyn. In the spring of 2013 Dilworth installed a permanent exterior painting for the Garden at The James Hotel in Lower Manhattan.

David B. Smith Gallery is Denver's venue for compelling contemporary art. The gallery specializes in the exhibition and sale of progressive contemporary artwork from emerging international artists. Since its founding in 2007, the gallery has been committed to presenting intelligent and culturally relevant exhibitions featuring work from some of today's most dynamic artists with growing international reputations. Through participation in leading art fairs and extensive media coverage, David B. Smith Gallery has grown a strong regional, national and international collector audience. The New York Times hailed the gallery as offering "an exciting contrast of cutting edge works." The gallery is located on Wazee Street in the historic LoDo neighborhood of Denver. In addition to its curatorial program, David B. Smith Gallery maintains an active publishing division, which produces limited edition artist prints, monographs, and exhibition catalogues.

David B. Smith Gallery
1543 A Wazee Street
Denver (CO) 80202 United States
Tel. +1 (303) 8934234
info@davidbsmithgallery.com
www.davidbsmithgallery.com

Opening hours
Tuesday - Saturday
From 12pm to 6pm or by appointment

Releted Images:

  1. Molly Dilworth, 6 Pirate Flags, 2013, sewn sailcloth and braided cord, 72 x 55 in. (182.9 x 139.7 cm) each, Courtesy the artist and David B. Smith Gallery
  2. Molly Dilworth, 152 Kansas Patterns, 2012, acrylic and graphite on paper, 88 x 96 in. (223.5 x 243.8 cm), Courtesy the artist and David B. Smith Gallery
  3. Installation View, Molly Dilworth, 2013
  4. Molly Dilworth, Archive detail, 2013
  5. Molly Dilworth, Ghost Acre, 2013, sewn sailcloth with braided cord and wooden dowel with acrylic, 64 x 52 in. (162.6 x 132.1 cm)
  6. Molly Dilworth, Archive, 2013, sewn sailcloth, with paper and painters tape, 14 x 47 in. (35.6 x 119.4 cm), Courtesy the artist and David B. Smith Gallery