For more information about these pieces, please contact the artist.

In Conversation

Levi's denim scraps and indigo dyed cotton mounted on panel

24 x 22

Surging Forward

Blue and red Levi's denim scraps mounted on panel

16 x 20 x 5

Teri Gandy-Richardson

Inspired by the miracle that IS the tenacity that spurs people to push beyond struggle, oppression, marginalization and enslavement, my work is moderately political, yet most simply celebrates people who work. Denim is THE iconic, and common thread throughout the history of American labor, literally telling our work and play stories. Denim dresses our culture, our movements, rebellions, attitudes and — ‘Here, Now, Always, Everybody’s Neighborhood’. The lives that have moved through have become layered in the air, leaving behind histories that breathe an eclectic texture, and memory into our present. Celebrated in my work is the residue and patina left behind by those who have lived in each garment paralleling the energy, artful people and workers that fuel the industry and soul of the city.

Artistically interested in composition, line and texture, I’m also drawn to the subtleties in how the fabric that denim is, becomes weathered and worn. Part of my palette is in how differently individuals wear their jeans. While some wear out the knees, others cause holes in front pockets from carried keys. Wallets cause a specific fading on the back pockets, and for those of us whose jeans are a bit too long, our hems fray. Speaking to our similarities, collective past, present— and human being, each style adds a layer of the life and person that is left behind. My hope is that viewers will see themselves and connect to others through their personal affinity for denim's universality, as a very human second skin.

Previous
Previous

Scott Milan

Next
Next

Vaidehi Kinkhabwala