Joy—defined as a feeling of great pleasure and happiness—was a state lost upon most during the pandemic, especially when the county’s racial endemic and raging division were at an all-time high. The uncertainty, fear, and emotional discord was palpable, both on an individual and collective level, and efforts to seek and cultivate joy were often replaced with efforts to survive—physically, mentally, and emotionally.
JOY is a visual art exhibition that introduces joy as an innate state that cannot be exhausted, and a beautiful byproduct of relationship and interconnectedness, no matter the barriers. On September 25, Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art (Charlotte, NC) will unveil the works of four game-changing artists, who explore their joy both as individual creators and as collaborators and friends who have given each other space to shine. This exhibition is a celebration—of creativity, of relationship, and of the powerful, life-changing outcomes of women coming together.
Erin Comerford Miller
Erin Comerford Miller is a mother, a visualist, and a passionate storyteller. As an attorney-turned-photographer who specializes in both portraiture and interior design photography, Erin brings people’s stories to life through her love of connection and collaboration with others. In Summer 2020, she became deeply moved by the art advocacy of the Charlotte Black Lives Matter mural, which spurred her collaboration with a number of the artists who created it. She took on the role of art historian, documenting the artist’s work, bearing witness, and experiencing the power of activism as an art form. It added a powerful dynamic to her professional course, and has dually translated to a personal mission for Erin. “The JOY exhibition is a response to the hardships and isolation of 2020. It embraces the idea that joy is a powerful form of resistance to what we see wrong in the world, one that was solidified in my collaboration with the muralists,” she notes. Erin has photographed for dozens of creative entrepreneurs in art and home interiors across the Southeast, and has been featured in a number of publications in the U.S.
Carla Aaron-Lopez (kingcarla)
Growing up in West Charlotte, an area of the city that has dramatically changed in recent years, Carla Aaron-Lopez knows intimately the importance of building, and sometimes re-building, community. After earning two Master degrees from SCAD-Atlanta, Carla, better known as kingcarla in the arts, began executing exhibitions and collaborative projects all over Atlanta, focusing on and highlighting Black artists and by bringing their work to the forefront of the cultural scene. She gave birth to her son in 2012, and moved back to Charlotte to be closer to family—her village—and to connect her experiences in Atlanta with a new era for her journey as an artist. “I have been most successful in my life when I work with others,” she says, adding “I purposely honed in on a group of eclectic women for JOY to give it rhythm and offer different perspectives.” Not confining herself to expectations or norms, Carla freely creates through any number of mediums, focusing on the creative, collaborative process and clashing cultures as much as the end result. Bettering herself and her world, and her son, who is also creating works with Carla as part of the exhibition, is what drives her work. In addition to her leadership as an arts activist and educator, Carla has led dozens of collaborative arts projects in Atlanta and Charlotte, is a recipient of several arts grants, was commissioned for President Biden’s Black Economic Summit in Charlotte, and has been included in a number of gallery and museum exhibitions.
www.iamkingcarla.carbonmade.com
Windy O’Connor
Windy O’Connor has always been an artist, even before she began painting. “Growing up, art was always around me and always a part of our lives,” Windy recalls, noting her long-time involvement with her childhood community theatre and her education in theatre and interior design. To create something that brings others joy, a mantra that is embodied in the exhibition, is at the heart of Windy’s work, which spans creation over three decades in collections, exhibitions, and spaces across the globe. Her inclusion in JOY was born accidentally, when Carla (who is a neighbor of Windy’s) wandered into her studio with a work of art she had begun. Carla invited Windy to add to it, and the work ultimately became a layer-upon-layer painting with each of their contributions. The spirit of Carla and Windy creating something together, and the joy that it brought both of them, was the spark that lit the fire for JOY and the entire premise behind it. Her artistic achievements, led by her driving force to create and connect on a daily basis, has led to her extensive line of textiles, wallpaper, clothing, and home accessories. Her work has been featured in numerous exhibitions in both gallery and museum spaces, and in local and national publications.
Lo’Vonia Parks
Lo’Vonia Parks, a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design, is an artist about town—and most often on rollerskates, a long-time leisure activity that she revived (from her her teenage years) during the pandemic as a way to cope and elicit joy. As a well-known caricaturist and illustrator, Parks was mostly a commission-based artist, as well as creating live at hundreds of art and social events prior to the pandemic. The shut-down, and subsequent halt of all social activity, forced her to harness her outward energy inward, embrace the quiet, and seek the joy of creation through her own, self-established purpose. Joy took on a whole new meaning for Parks, and her art became unexpected reflections of joy—colorful murals, a painted rocking chair inspired by Maya Angelou, or yoga poses sketched in charcoal on wood— that simultaneously stayed true to why she creates. Her artistic involvement with The Black Lives Matters mural was a healing, magical moment for her and offered a powerful antidote to the panic, pain, and sadness she was experiencing. “My work is part of my dignity, as a black woman and an artist, and represents both my pain in times of joy and joy in times of pain. Joy is not something that can be taken from you; it’s a precious treasure. The work I create comes from that place inside of me where joy lives” she says. Parks’ work has been part of numerous exhibitions and special projects, and her bright, colorful murals can be found all over Charlotte.
www.lovoniaparks.com
