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 Visions
and Voices
Paintings by Brenda Kingery
Embroidered Textiles
from Honduras, Mexico and Uganda
October 20 – December 12, 2003
Artist’s Statement
 My
art is the reflection of what I see in life experiences. My Spiritual Journey
reveals these perceptions visually.
The abstract paintings have
become a way of narrative symbolism for me. This process is very much companion
to the Spiritual Journey. Both require a process and less a preconceived idea.
The process is about letting God through my vision and partner in the work. The
work becomes prayer and a willingness to see in new ways. It is playing in God's
imagination with a different perspective.
 The
Robe series add a textural tactile element to stories in scripture. For example,
Elijah passing the Robe of Blessing on to
Elisha. Here, textile is a Blessing. In the
painting “Joseph's Egyptian Coat,” there are more than twenty five layers literally in
the painting, or figuratively in the text of
Joseph's many adventures.
 Textiles
as a Blessing has become a literal translation of mission and the arts. As art,
it is sent out somewhat like a beautiful tapestry of hope. It is the tapestry
of people all working together. The abstract becoming the truth, beyond any
preconceived imagination. God's Breath changing and turning us to new and
different experiences, to fresh realities and mystery.
 The
third world women are a new reality for me. In their silence, I have wanted to
bring their voices to resound with dignity, and they in turn have given me Hope, and a glimpse of Christ among
us.
"Be what you see. Receive who you already are"
Augustine
Brenda Kingery
Curator’s Statement
 Brenda
Kingery studied art in Okinawa and has traveled extensively throughout
Asia. She is also a voting member of the
Chickasaw nation. The paintings that arise from this West-meets-East background
rather improbably and astonishingly manage to combine the colors and shapes of
the American Southwest with a sensibility shaped by the flat, patterned
formality of Japanese woodcuts. This exhibition includes four paintings in
complex, collage-like style which characterized her work for many years. In
works like “Elijah Ascending” and “Joseph’s Egyptian Robe,” the
layers of patterned images evoke kimonos and dream states as well as the
Biblical stories.
 These
works are complemented by a more recent group of portraits of women Kingery met
while on mission journeys to Honduras, Mexico and Uganda with Hands of Hope, an
international outreach program originating from St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in
San Antonio, Texas. Through Hands of Hope,
these women have learned to create embroidered textiles suitable for use in
churches and homes, selling their work to finance day care centers, schools, and
other projects benefiting poor people in
Haiti, Mexico, and Uganda. Several of
these embroidered textiles will be on display in the boardroom adjacent to the
gallery as an integral part of this exhibition.
 The
portraits, more realistic than Kingery’s earlier work, are rich with allusions
that tremble just beyond the reach of conscious thought. The faces of the women
emerge from a richly-colored world in which they are free to think and to dream.
Although silent, they communicate with meaningful glances and half-formed
smiles, as though they could tell us something important, if only we would stop
long enough to listen. Through Kingery’s penetrating vision and impeccable technique, we may begin to hear their silenced voices.
Deborah Sokolove
Curator, Dadian Gallery
send comments or questions about the gallery to
the curator at:
dsokolove@wesleysem.edu
the copyright of individual works of art belongs to the
relevant artist
please do not copy or distribute
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