A ROMANCE OF PARADISE

A Romance of Paradise is a collection of photographs, videos, and sculptural works that highlight the Hamilton’s ongoing exploration of interwoven themes such as environmental justice, folklore and mythologies, and the traditions of communities living in vulnerable landscapes within the rural American South. The title of the exhibition takes the original denotation of the word paradise, meaning “heaven,” underscoring the myths of an Edenic southern landscape formed during the exploitative and violent southward expansion of the United States. 

Many of the artworks in A Romance of Paradise draw from early African American nature writing, rituals of hoodoo and traditional healing modalities, botanical drawings, and contemporary lived experiences of communities navigating the distinct impacts of climate change within the South. By drawing together elements from these sources in her deeply personal, interdisciplinary practice, Hamilton interrogates how these histories and myths can give clues to present day experiences and the precarious implications of environmental exploitation on the future.

A Romance of Paradise is on view at Marianne Boesky Gallery (New York, NY) from March 27 - April 24, 2021. For more information, visit the A Romance of Paradise exhibition page.

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2014

  • Allison Janae Hamilton: Kingdom of the Marvelous. Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY.

2012

  • The Black Ain't Project: Installation #1. chashama Gallery, New York, NY.
  • SPACE IS THE PLACE. Corridor Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
     

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2015

  • DandyLion. Museum of Contemporary Photography, Chicago, IL.
  • Badass Art Man. African American Museum in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA.

2013

  • Artists-in-Residence Group Exhibition. SVA Galleries, New York, NY.
  • Wish You Were Here. A.I.R. Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.

2012

  • Bombay Sapphire Artisan Series. Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY.

2011

  • Dirty Sensibilities. Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute, New York, NY.

2013

  • Cage Unrequited by Pope.L. A performance co-organized by The Studio Museum in Harlem, Performa,  and The Grey Art Gallery, NYU and in conjunction with the exhibition Radical Presence: Black  Performance in Contemporary Art, curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver.  New York, NY. 
  • Art Director, Roots. |&| Rigor. Director, Tiona McClodden. Philadelphia, PA.

2012

  • Art/Production Team, QueenS. Director, dream hampton.

2013

  • "Committee." Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, The Smithsonian  Institution.   Washington, DC.
  • "Sisters."  Folklife Festival, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, The Smithsonian  Institution.   Washington, DC.

2014

  • Critical Perspectives on Visual Culture Symposium, Whitney Museum of American Art. May 20, 2014.

2013

  • Folklife Festival, The Smithsonian Institution,  Washington, DC.
  • Black  Portraiture[s]: The Black Body in the West Symposium, Université de Paris Diderot, Paris, France.

2011

  • From Portraits to Pinups: Representations of Women in Art and Popular Culture Symposium, Brooklyn Museum,  Brooklyn, NY.

2010

  • Conversations Lecture Series, Institute for Research in African-American Studies, Columbia  University, New York, NY.

2009

  • Transnational Feminisms Conference, Manchester, United Kingdom.

FEATURES

"40 Amazing Black Artists to Watch in 2014," NBC's The Grio. TheGrio.com January 3, 2014. Web.

"30 Under 30 Women Photographers," Photoboite. photoboite.com January 1, 2014. Web.

Long, Monique. "Marvelous Dandies: Allison Janae Hamilton Presents Her Foppish Subjects in Lush Landscapes," Studio Museum in Harlem Blog. studiomuseum.org/studio-blog. December 13, 2013. Web.

"Allison Janae Hamilton," Hycide Magazine No. 5 (January 2013), p.59. Print.

"P-Funk," Insight Magazine Vol. 4, No. 3. (Fall 2011), pp. 48-53. Print and Web.

ARTWORK COMMISSIONED FOR PUBLICATIONS

Artforum. November 2014. p. 203. Print.

Transition Magazine. Issue 114 (Summer 2014). pp. 60, 63, 65. http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/transition. Print and Web.

Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. Vol. 22, No 2-3 (Fall 2012).  Cover Image. Print.

INTERVIEWS AND REVIEWS

Moore, Darnell. "TFW Interview: Allison Janae Hamilton on 'The Black Ain't Project Installation #1: Embodiment,'" thefeministwire.com.  March 7, 2012. Web.

Wimberly, Dexter. "Dirty Sensibilities: A New South," thestarklife.com. October 12, 2011. Web.

ADDITIONAL CITATIONS

Bailey, Ludlow E. "An Insider's Guide to African Diaspora Art at Basel Miami Beach 2014," thegrio.com. December 4, 2014. Web.

Ball, Charing. "Dandies in Paris," peopleplacesthingsradio.com. December 4, 2012. Web.

Harris, Juliette. "The Great Gathering in Paris," The International Review of African American Art (Spring 2013). Web.

Leavell, Gerald. "Gerald Leavell on ETW '11," studiomuseum.org/studio-blog. April 20, 2011. Web.