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Community Corner

Irrevocable Fragments

What truly defines an individual? Such a fundamental question remains one of the most complex to explain. The exhibition Irrevocable Fragments reveals that this answer is not found in one source, but instead in the ever changing fragments of life we choose to remember. Curator Rene Dimanche examines how the disjointed memories of our past influence our purpose as individuals.


“The exhibit will deal with the disintegration and re-integration of information we digest from places and people we come across in our lives” Dimanche has brought together a team of artists, each with personal interpretations of unique influences. By examining their work as a compilation of their own fragmented memories, they uncover how they as individuals are defined by these incremental episodes. 



The paintings of Clayvon Ambrose Wesley concentrate on the importance of these fragments to an artist’s work. “A primary focus for me is to show everything is important to the artist. Inanimate objects, the senses of the body, and the awareness that we bring to our view of art are essential.” For Wesley, these details are crucial to exposing the influences that ultimately connect the viewer to his work.  



The strongest influences for Byron Darnell Rogers come from his childhood. Raised by his mother and aunts, he was instilled with a strong sense cultural identity. This guidance is at a forefront in his paintings; often explored though strong female roles, spirituality, and musical themes. Together these subjects expose the viewer to the manifestation of the past into an individual’s identity.



Painting on the surface of various wooden panels, David Dolak’s sees his work as a documentation of the passage of time. Evoking the idea of identity as a reflection of past memories, his work is not as a specific statement but instead a collective record of the experiences that impacted its creation.  “The complete paintings will not be vehicles used to make a particular statement or to express a singular idea, but will serve as a testament to the process, time, faith, and the direct influences that culminated in their creation.”



Under the curation of Rene Dimanche, these artists expose audiences to the personal fragments that shaped and continue to reshape their lives. The details they choose to express in each piece expose the fragmented memories that impact their artistic identities. In this way, they reveal the autobiographical relationship that exists between and artist and his work. “The artworks—through different composition, content and framing method—encapsulate fragments of places; families and friends that help us make sense of who we are in this world.”



Irrevocable Fragments
opens at RAC on Friday, January 10 from 5:30 - 8:30pm and is free and open to the public. Curator and artists will give a gallery talk on Tuesday, January 28 from 6:30 - 8:00pm. The exhibition continues through February 15.











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