Stone House Art Gallery is pleased to present Legacy, a two person show featuring new works on paper by artists de’Angelo Dia and Julio Gonzalez. In these works, the two examine what makes heritage and how it is applied to the present. Through a celebration of universal power, the artists confront pain, trauma, and the tenacity of ancestral practices and rituals. In Moses, Pearl, and Queen, Dia honors characters of African descent with names drawn from Yoruba, and colors and patterns that evoke textiles from across the continent. These large scale drawings, which are part of an ongoing series, are inspired by daily conversations and the sharing of family history, wisdom, mind maps, and poetry. Contrary to Dia’s large figures, Gonzalez offers an intimate glimpse into a fantastical Mayan future derived from his own ancestry. Using line and gentle mark-making, this series of twenty-four drawings instils a sense of curiosity and interconnectedness as Mayan imagery and design blends into abstract forms of wonder. Gonzalez positions a query of “what if” about the possibility of a contemporary Mayan society. In Legacy, Dia and Gonzalez examine the heritage of two distinct cultures. Their works combined create a pathway to a deeper understanding of self through the reincarnation of embodied spirit and adoration of ancestral lineage.

Legacy was on view at SHAG throughout the month of January 2021.