Photo by Cory Morton.
Atiya Jones is an autodidact creator of abstract organic accumulations. Her work serves as a reflection of human migration, and more specifically the modern diaspora known as gentrification.
When considering the Afro-American experience within our country, one must see that communities of color have most often been moved by force, for capital gain. Having personally witnessed the socio-economic/demographic shift of neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Los Angeles and now, Pittsburgh, the artist questions how populations reconnect, rebuild and heal their communities. By creating art, Jones creates value. As a woman of color, this is an act of defiance, empowerment and visibility.
Her work is about human connection. It is a visual depiction of healing, finding one’s tribe and building a life as a unit. It is about the magic permeating beneath the surface of self, and the search to find it.
It is soft, tense, mobile and still.
The Flatbush (Brooklyn), NY native is currently navigating life in Pittsburgh, PA.
Education:
SUNY Purchase, Media & Communications, B.S. 2008
Residencies:
2016 The Yards Rochester, NY
2016 Have Company Grand Rapids, MI
2016 Bunker Projects Pittsburgh, PA
Installions:
2017 You Have a Body Full of Mountains Crown Barbershop, PGH
2017 Personality & Demographics Fieldwork Gallery, PGH
2018 (Untitled) Spirit Walls 2 Spirit Lodge, PGH
Past Exhibitions:
2017 I Live Here, Now. Ace Hotel, Pittsburgh
2015 Merge The Candy Factory Brooklyn, NY
2015 Transitions The Candy Factory Brooklyn, NY
Press:
Design Sponge January 2016
Rochester City News January 2016