Hamiltonian Artists is pleased to present Maria Luz Bravo’s solo exhibition, Glimpse, Gathered. Amid her daily walks through the ubiquitous back alleys and sidewalks of Northwest DC, Bravo’s wandering gaze locates everyday artifacts that—when captured and gathered—gesture toward sentiment, oddity, and happenstance. The exhibited photographs and video works evidence things stumbled upon when Bravo allows chance and discovery to guide her otherwise purely routine activities. For Bravo, these everyday explorations offer an opportunity to encounter the neighborhood in new, more intimate ways. In her turning away from the appeal of manicured porches, she uncovers the ordinary sublime scattered throughout daily life.
Glimpse, Gathered is a selection of such moments and observations, directing the viewer’s attention to the more overlooked vantage points of the neighborhood, and the ways in which it often serves as an impartial record of our busy lives, aspirations, and ambitions. Bravo’s photographs reveal this record, consisting of artifacts from previous lives, architectural remains of incessant efforts to expand and renovate, imprints of foliage on concrete, shopping lists, and love messages that fell from pockets only to disintegrate into the sidewalk. Her resulting photographic juxtapositions and arrangements guide the viewer into a quiet exercise of close looking, the mode of observation from which this body of work emerged.
A virtual artist talk will be presented on Thursday, April 6th 6pm-7pm. Link to register here. Visit Hamiltonian Artists’ website and follow @hamiltonian_artists on Instagram for more information about corresponding public programs, details to be announced.
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Maria Luz Bravo (b. 1975, Mexico; lives and works in Washington, DC) is Mexican photographer whose work highlights major social phenomena, focusing primarily on cities in conflict, political boundaries and community resilience and revolves around the use of space, both urban and architectural, in the contemporary urban landscape. She holds a Bachelor’s in Architecture from Universidad de las Américas in Puebla, Mexico and a Master of Arts in New Media Photojournalism from Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University in Washington, DC. Bravo’s work has been exhibited and published internationally in the US, Mexico, and Europe. Her 2014 series Reclaims was selected to be part of the XVI Photography Biennale in Mexico. Bravo is a 2020-2022 Hamiltonian Artists Fellow.
ABOUT HAMILTONIAN ARTISTS:
Hamiltonian Artists’ mission is to build a dynamic community of innovative artists and effective visual art leaders by providing professional development opportunities to early-career artists and by advancing their entrepreneurial success. In 2007, Paul So, an avid painter and a physics professor at George Mason University, founded Hamiltonian Artists and Hamiltonian Gallery with the vision of creating an innovative career incubator program for emerging visual artists. In 2019, the Board of Directors of Hamiltonian Artists chose to merge the two organizations into a single 501c3 nonprofit to better serve the mission.
Today, Hamiltonian Artists is a dynamic catalyst for DC’s creative economy and a vibrant center for contemporary art in Washington, DC. Through its unique investment into the next generation of cutting-edge artists, Hamiltonian helps artists to develop important business skills, professional experiences, and visibility to support and sustain their art career. Through a two-year artist fellowship, artist talks, public events and its membership program, the organization contributes to the vitality of DC’s burgeoning arts scene by deepening the appreciation for contemporary art and culture throughout Washington, DC, and beyond.
HOW TO VISIT:
The exhibition is on view at Hamiltonian Gallery, 1353 U Street NW, Washington, DC 20009. Gallery open Thursday through Saturday 11 am – 6 pm. Masks are strongly suggested. For more information visit hamiltonianartists.org.
