Dear Delia
Whitney Claflin, Nikita Gale, E. Jane, Alima Lee, Maggie Lee, Sara Magenheimer
February 16 - March 29, 2020
138 Eldridge St, New York, NY 10002
PRESS
Brooklyn Rail
Delia Derbyshire was a musician and composer known for her work with the BBC Radiophonic Workshop during the 1960s, including her arrangement of the iconic theme music to the ongoing British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Though she often remained uncredited for work (until Doctor Who’s 50th anniversary special 12 years posthumously), Derbyshire continued to produce notable contributions in electronic sound. A true pioneer, Derbyshire faced countless obstacles but forged ahead, becoming what many refer to as “the unsung heroine of British electronic music.”
Dear Delia is a letter to the legend. Six artists hailing from various practices and backgrounds -- Whitney Claflin, Nikita Gale, E. Jane, Alima Lee, Maggie Lee, and Sara Magenheimer — coalesce in the gallery to create a multimedia homage to Derbyshire in an installation of works on paper, collage and video.
Whitney Claflin (b. Providence, RI) received an MFA from Yale University School of art in 2009 and a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. Claflin is a visual artist who creates amorphous paintings resulting from a conceptual practice wherein she studies the narrative of mark making across various media. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Select exhibitions include 'By All Means, You Can Have Two Halloweens,’ Drei, Cologne, Germany (2020); ‘Crows,’ Real Fine Arts, Brooklyn, NY (2014); ‘Exteriorized Bliss,’ The Green Gallery, Milwaukee, WI (2015); ‘Painting: Now and Forever, Part III,’ Greene Naftali, New York, NY (2018); ‘Zombie Formalism,’ Mitchell Algus, New York NY (2016).
Nikita Gale (b. Anchorage, AK) received an MFA from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2016 and a BA from Yale University (2006). Gale is a visual artist working in sculpture, film, text, and sound. Her practice is structured by a study of objects, and the way they are imbued with social and political histories. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Select exhibitions include ‘AUDIENCING,’ PS1, New York, NY (2020); ‘HOT WORLD,’ Reyes|Finn, Detroit, MI (2019); ‘Fall Apart,’ Martos Gallery, New York, NY (2019); ‘Extended Play,’ 56 Henry, New York, NY (2018); ‘MADE IN L.A.,’ Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA (2018); ‘Keynote Drift,’ Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta, GA (2018); ‘DESCENT,’ Common Wealth & Council, Los Angeles, CA (2018); and ‘RIFF FATIGUE,’ Artist Curated Projects, Los Angeles, CA (2017).
E. Jane (b. Bethesda, MD) received an MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2016 and a BA from Marymount Manhattan College in 2012. E. Jane is a Black woman, conceptual artist, sound designer and musician. Their work is a critical inquiry surrounding softness, safety, Alice Walker’s womanism, futurity, cyberspace and how subjugated bodies navigate media/the media. Their interdisciplinary practice incorporates text, digital images, video, performance, sound-based, sculpture, textile and installation works. They live and work in Brooklyn, NY. Select exhibitions include ‘HOTLINE,’ SPACE, Portland, ME (2019); ‘I Was Raised On The Internet,’ Museum Of Contemporary Art Chicago, Chicago, IL (2018), ‘Torrent Tea: Queer Space and Photographic Futures,’ Newspace Center for Photography, Portland, OR (2017); ‘Wandering / WILDLING: Blackness on the Internet,’ IMT Gallery, London, UK (2016). E. Jane is currently in residence at The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY.
Alima Lee (b. New York, NY) is a filmmaker, designer, artist, curator, and DJ. Her work explores themes of identity and intersectionality. She is Co-Founder and Art Director of Akashik Records music label, and Co-Host of a monthly show, "Rave Reparations," on NTS. She lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Select film work presentations and exhibitions include ‘EBSPLOITATION,’ Martos Gallery, New York, NY (2019); ‘Screen: Black Radical Imagination,’ MOCA, Los Angeles, CA (2018); ‘The Worst Witch,’ Shoot The Lobster, Los Angeles, CA (2018); ‘The Smithsonian African American Film Festival,’ Smithsonian African American Museum, Washington, DC (2018); ‘Portals 1,’ Gavin Brown's Enterprise, New York, NY (2018); ‘Black Radical Imagination,’ ICA Boston, MA (2018).
Maggie Lee (b. 1987) Received a BFA from the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Lee is a multimedia artist working in collage, film, and installation – mining content from her personal biography, as well as subculture and cult classics. She lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. Select exhibitions include ‘Cracki’s Birthday,’ Édouard Montassut, Paris, France (2019); ‘Moon Represents My Heart: Music, Memory and Belongings,’ MOCA, New York, NY (2019); ‘Reset,’ Kai Matsumiya, New York, NY (2019); ‘Music Videos,’ Arcadia Missa, London, UK (2018); ‘Maggie Lee,’ Lomex, New York, NY (2017); ‘Gigi’s Underground,’ 356 Mission, Los Angeles, CA (2016); ‘Fufu’s Dream House,’ Real Fine Arts, New York, NY (2016); ‘Billboard on Bowery,’ Robert Blumenthal Gallery, New York, NY (2017); ‘Speak,’ Lokal, Kunstalle Zürich, Switzerland (2017); ‘Homo Mundus Minor,’ T293, Rome, Italy (2017); ‘Mirror Cells,’ Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY (2016).
Sara Magenheimer (b. Philadelphia, PA) received an MFA from Bard College in 2013 and a BFA from The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 2004. Magenheimer is a multimedia artist whose practice spans video, sound, performance, sculpture, collage and installation, creating surprising juxtapositions with language, graphic symbols, sound, and imagery. In her video work, visual and verbal signs mutate to open up new channels of understanding. She lives and works in New York, NY. Select exhibitions include ‘Sara Magenheimer: NOON,’ New Museum, New York, NY (2018); ‘I Collect Neglected Venoms,’ The Kitchen, New York, NY (2017); I am a Scientist,’ V1 Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark (2018); ‘Frame Structures,’ Magenta Plains, New York, NY (2018); ‘Freuds Mouth,’ Cooper Cole Gallery, Toronto, Canada (2016); ‘Chatham Square,’ Foxy Production, New York, NY (2016); ‘CCCC (Ceramics Club Cash and Carry),’ White Columns, New York, NY (2015).