Events

Bryant Van Low, Jesse Akele, Theresa Weber and Joseph Aina

November 21, 2023
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DADA Gallery is pleased to present Layered Textures, a group exhibition featuring Bryant Mclaughlin Van-Low, Corrine Slade, Joseph Aina, Jesse Akele and Theresa Weber.

Layered Textures explores the convergence of materiality and abstraction by bringing together artists who take a considered approach to the use of materials and textures in their practice. These artists work outside of binaries, employing nuance and complexity in conveying the human experience. Through the use of paint, fabrics and found objects, they explore themes of escapism, identity and power hierarchies.

Corrine Slade makes paintings that depict black women in imagined settings to create a sense of warmth. The figure acts as a stand-in for the viewer, immersing her audience in dream-like spaces that she herself finds comforting. The places she constructs are environments for solace that do not exist in this reality. She is currently residing in Chicago. She received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in May 2020.


Joseph Aina is a Nigerian-British artist whose work investigates human nature and the way in which it is interwoven into the fabric of society. With a specific interest in contemporary notions of identity and its place within popular culture. He identifies symbols within the streets and media as methods of communication between the social and the individual. Living and working in both London and Windsor, He graduated from the Royal College of Art, upon the receipt of the Royal College of Art Studentship.

Bryant Mclaughlin Van-Low’s research interests are centered around social art practices, exploring spatial relationships between individuals, objects, natural ecologies, and urban environments. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Van-Low's art is registered through visual registers, including painting, installation, and architecture. His work seeks to engage with and challenge the complex interplay between social structures, cultural practices, and materiality. He holds a BA Hons from Goldsmiths, University of London. Receiving the Frank Bowling Scholarship he recently graduated with a Masters degree in City Design from the Royal College of Art.


Jesse Akele’s work is concerned with investigating the inner life of her subjects and how this is moulded by experience. With subjects very much rooted in her world, Akele’s approach to painting them is a response to the qualities she has observed them radiate. She enjoys magnifying what can be perceived to be fleeting, sometimes small, moments and making them epic. She graduated with a  Masters degree in painting from the Royal College of Art in 2023.

Theresa Weber seeks to question existing power hierarchies and fixed categorizations through multi-disciplinary installations and collaborative performances. With a dynamic approach, her works often refer to existing mythologies and historical research fields, which are communicated through dense collages and sculptural networks. These are mostly made out of culturally loaded materials that engage with the body from an anti- colonial perspective and reflect on hybrid identities. Her practice exemplifies the constant transformation within every tradition, which is represented through contemporary body-marks and archival techniques. She graduated with a Masters degree in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in 2023.