Internationally renowned artist Chakaia Booker works with Chine collé, a printmaking technique. Her art will be on exhibition at Payne Gallery from October 26 to December 10.
Payne Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of sculpture and Chine collé by artist Chakaia Booker. The exhibition runs from October 26 through December 10, 2023. Moravian will host an opening reception on Thursday, October 26, 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. and an artist talk and Q&A that evening at 7 p.m. in Foy Concert Hall.
Chakaia Booker is an internationally renowned artist who works in monumental sculpture and smaller media, including printmaking focused largely on Chine collé. Her work is often inspired by her experiences as a black woman in America, and she uses her art to explore themes of identity, race, and gender. Booker has exhibited across the US, Europe, Africa, and Asia.
Booker’s art is often made from found objects. She transforms materials, such as tires, chains, and other industrial discards of the modern world, into powerful and evocative sculptures that speak to the social and political issues of our time. As with her innovative sculptures, Booker’s Chine collé prints are also made from found objects. Chine collé, however, is a traditional printmaking technique, one that bonds a delicate surface (which pulls finer details off the printing plate) over a heavier layer (which provides support and can even introduce a background color behind the printed image).
Regardless of the delicacy of the upper layer of Chine collé’s two-layered paper, the found objects that Booker collages onto it create intricate and visually arresting images. These prints often depict figures and objects associated with African American culture, such as the abstract designs of kente cloth and African masks.
This exhibition brings together in a single presentation, Booker’s sculpture and Chine collé prints. The juxtaposition of these two media allows us to see her in a new light. Sculpture provides a physical presence that prints cannot, while prints offer a more intimate and personal view of an artist’s work. When seen together they offer us a powerful look at Booker and her artistic explorations of race, gender, and identity.