US
May 24–June 18, 2022
The Ballad of Azya Moore (Ode to Zora Neale Hurston), oil on linen, 66 x 40 inches, 2021
Reception: Thursday, May 26, 6-8pm
First Street Gallery is pleased to present US, an exhibition of recent work by Teresa Dunn. These paintings are from her narrative painting series that brings voice to stories that people of color, individuals with complex cultural identities, and immigrants share about their daily experience in America. Informed by Dunn’s own upbringing, being a brown Mexican-American in the Midwest, these paintings consider isolation and belonging, joy and struggle, and relationships and identity through visually poetic constructed realities. The narratives are fictive futures, potential alternate realities, speculative nonfiction, or distorted depictions of past events. Dunn uses color, light, and painterly surfaces to build psychological tension on questions of race and gender. Dunn’s paintings are not didactic nor do they propose solutions for the issues they consider. Instead, US prioritizes depictions that represent and value Black and Brown lives.
Teresa Dunn was born and raised in Southern Illinois and received her MFA from Indiana University Bloomington. She has been recognized as a three-time recipient of the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation Fellowship, a Jacob K. Javits Fellow, and was the featured interview and cover artist of All SHE Makes inaugural print publication. Dunn exhibits widely including her forthcoming solo exhibition at The Dennos Museum in Traverse City, Michigan. Dunn lives and works in East Lansing where she is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University. Visit Dunn’s website to view additional artwork and complete bio: www.teresa-dunn.com.
