Artist draws inspiration from her loved ones

Artist draws inspiration from her loved ones

A mix of large-scale chalk creations and smaller ceramic charms tell the stories of family, culture and nostalgia at a Sarasota Art Museum exhibition, "Chris Friday: Where We Never Grow Old."

SARASOTA, Fla. - A mix of large-scale chalk creations and smaller ceramic charms tell the stories of family, culture and nostalgia at a Sarasota Art Museum exhibition, "Chris Friday: Where We Never Grow Old."

"My family and friends are always the subjects of my work," Friday said. "Since I tend to depict Black bodies at rest and in acts of leisure, it makes sense for me to give that privilege to the people that I love first."

Friday developed her chalkboard aesthetic while in college, with the motivation of being able to teach the lessons that she'd learned. She creates large, sometimes photo-realistic pieces using white chalk on black paper. She takes photos of her friends and family in the poses she wants for reference. 

"I hope the monumental drawings of these Black figures ground visitors in the here and now and even invoke a sort of reverence for them," Friday said. 

A highlight of the showcase features a pair of pieces of Friday's mother. One has her above a chair. One has her standing up. Sarasota Art Museum Executive Director Virginia Shearer loves that visitors can interpret for themselves if she is sitting down or getting up. 

"For that particular portrait, she is someone who never rests, so rest for her looks like being about to sit down, but then realizing there's another reason for her to stand and do something else, so that's the closest she gets to rest, and so depicting her like that just made sense to me," Friday explained. 

Many of the large chalk pieces are surrounded by smaller ceramic, three-dimensional pieces like jewelry and food. 

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"The message of the exhibition refers to the cultural safe havens we've created in art, music, food, language, et cetera, in order to sustain ourselves. Most people recognize at least one of the objects and can connect to it on a personal level," Friday said. "It's been great hearing these nostalgic stories from people from all walks of life and various cultural backgrounds saying, I know what this is, and then telling me some personal story about how much it means to them, so that's been really great."

Creating the exhibition took Friday five months, working six days a week. 

It will be on display until August 10.