Various Small Fires proudly presents Part II of its inaugural exhibition at VSF Texas. Texan celebrates the rich contributions Texas-born artists offer to the contemporary art landscape and provides a homecoming for many of the exhibition's diasporic Texans. While claiming one’s Texan heritage can incite complicated feelings, the exhibition presents an opportunity for these artists to proclaim their ties to the state through a sense of expanded community. Texan: Part II brings together work by Diedrick Brackens, Xavier Cha, Hayden Dunham, Baseera Khan, Puppies Puppies (Jade Guanaro Kuriki-Olivo), and Sarah Zapata.
Conservative political and religious values coupled with an extensive border to Mexico have given rise to contentious issues in the state of Texas, including immigration, women's reproductive rights, and legislation impacting the lives of trans citizens. These matters have come to a height in recent months, garnering international attention and becoming increasingly relevant to those who have called Texas home. Like a tattoo that one might prefer to conceal in select contexts, being from Texas can be tricky. Texan, however, aims to reinstate a sense of pride and provide VSF’s global audience with an opportunity to reconsider its perception of the state.
Part I looked to a generation of artists who challenged the canon of modernism in disciplines of painting, sculpture, and video. The artists in Part II draw from socio-political topics and explore radical ideas through an intersectional lens. These artists depart from traditional mediums and processes, issuing expanded approaches to engage with complex issues.
Diedrick Brackens utilizes intricately woven tapestries to explore allegory, narrative, and broader themes of African American queer identity. In a new large-scale work, brotherhood is fragile, 2022, two figures grasp a chain from opposite ends, forging a tension in this depiction of male kinship.
