The Third Line is proud to welcome Dexter Wimberly as guest curator for the exhibition A Fast, Moving Sky. Dexter has selected four artists from vastly different parts of the world, who are connected to the African Diaspora. Rushern Baker, Leonardo Benzant, Andrew Lyght and Valerie Piraino are cultural hybrids whose works exemplify the complexity of defining this phenomenon; aesthetically as well as geographically. A Fast, Moving Sky illustrates how ideas, aesthetics and people are constantly in flux.

Rushern’s abstract mixed media pieces convey a sense of violence and destruction. In his creative process, Rushern strains the canvas through construction and inclusion, even adding building materials to his work. Born into a politically active family and raised in Washington D.C., Rushern developed an active interest in current affairs, which returns in his work as the artist strives to capture a feeling of unrest.

Leonardo is a Dominican-American artist, born and raised in Brooklyn, who refers to himself as an Urban Shaman. His practice is informed by his studies of the Congo and his spiritual beliefs, that are shaped by his research into native African and South-American religion and rituals. Through expressive and colorful imagery, Leonardo depicts his impressions of the visual world, the unseen and the cosmos, and continuously explores his ties to his ancestral past.

Andrew tests the limits of the conventional canvas through deconstruction. His current works resemble kite-like objects that are difficult to categorize simply as drawing or sculpture. The artist, who was born in Guyana and later moved to the West, finds his inspiration in early childhood memories such as flying kites—a popular sport in Guyana that fuels his oeuvre.

Valerie’s work departs from her transnational background: she was brought up between Rwanda and the US. Her sculptures represent tropical fruits, plants and seeds native to the Global South and embody the migrants from the region. By means of aesthetic clues such as the use of gold—a resource that plays an important role in African history, she reflects on colonization, trade and current migration.

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