The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is currently hosting Layo Bright’s debut solo museum exhibition. Her exhibition has been ongoing since the 7th of April, 2024. After almost six months, the exhibition will come to a halt on the 27th of October, 2024.
This solo exhibition features some of Bright’s new and borrowed works forged from glass and her mastery of pottery. Notably, the artist’s body of work on display comprises her creations between 2020 and 2024. Her stunning sculptures are exhibited in the round, on the wall and in relief across the Opatrny Vestibule, Opatrny Gallery and the Sound Gallery in the Aldrich Museum.
The exhibition titled, “Layo Bright : Dawn and Dusk” derives its name from the first two pieces visitors encounter through the main entrance. The blown glass busts feature the same face with different colourings as a tangible representation of their names: Dawn and Dusk.
Created in the aftermath of Breonna Taylor’s ghastly murder, the busts pay homage to black female power. They also represent important themes of feminism, ancestry and the African diaspora.
Another important theme Layo Bright infuses into her artworks is the matter of migration. She incorporates cuts of woven nylon totes (Ghana-must-go-bags named after the Nigerian 1983 decree which expelled Ghanaian immigrants from the country). The totes are symbolic of forced mass departure and displacement.
In the Sound Gallery, the drip-drop of water emanating from Bright’s 2022 fountain, “The Thorn and Roses” gives visitors a sensory treat. Water being the dominion of spirits in Bright’s Yoruba culture symbolises life and death alongside passage and regeneration.
Her most recent glass works hint at figurations of caryatids and masks. She encircles them with cast and blown flowers, some native to Nigeria.
One might wonder where this sculptor draws inspiration to create such delicate pieces. Thankfully, the answer is not one that is out of reach. Layo Bright shared in a discussion, “I’m inspired by our unique backgrounds, the current times we live in, the fragility of life, and the resilience to survive while navigating complex issues that seem to define us.”
Like many other artists, Layo Bright does not deny the play of external artistic influence on her art. Some of these influences include Simone Leigh, Wangechi Mutu, Kara Walker, Fred Wilson, and Alison Saar. In addition to that, she cites her matrilineal heritage as the inspiration for the headdresses (known as gele in Yoruba) seen on her sculptures of female heads.
While the exhibition is hosted by the Aldrich Museum, there has been significant financial support by way of grants from different organisations and persons. These include Ellen and Andrew Celli, the Center for Craft, Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass (AACG), Bill and Christy Gautreaux.
Pursuant to the museum’s artist-centric nature, it has been the launching ground for many artists’ careers. The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is among the first to present group shows of artists who are now highly-acclaimed, even in death. Jean-Michel Basquiat and Jack Whitten are stellar mentions.
(Courtesy of the artist)
The museum located in Ridgefield, Connecticut also has a tradition of hosting the debut solo museum exhibitions of artists. Unsurprisingly, many of these artists have gone on to make great names for themselves.
The Aldrich museum is concurrently hosting “Layo Bright : Dawn and Dusk” alongside Elizabeth Englander’s first solo exhibition. Thanks to separate gallery spaces within the museum, each artist gets their own spotlight without any intersection with the other’s art.
Layo Bright’s journey towards becoming an exceptional artist is quite fascinating. She claims to have always been artistically-inclined. However, she was unsure about how to become an artist. So, on the advice of her parents, she studied law for a financially secure career path.
After obtaining a law degree from Babcock University, she completed Law School in 2015. Though she was now a qualified lawyer, her love for art endured. Fortunately, that love spurred her to seek an internship role as Peju Alatise’s studio assistant. It was during Bright’s time with Peju that she could finally envision life as an artist.
The Nigerian-born sculptor then went on to receive an MFA in Fine Arts (Hons.) from the Parsons School of Design in 2018. There, she emerged as one of the finalists of the Beyonce Formation Scholarship valued at $5000.
In 2023, Layo Bright became a recipient of the Pittsburgh Glass Center’s annual Ron Desmett Memorial Award for Imagination with Glass. The award consisted of a $2500 cash prize accompanied by a residency with the Center.
While “Dawn and Dusk” is her first solo museum exhibition, it is not her first solo exhibition. That would be the “Layo Bright : Rockhaven” exhibition at the Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago. The exhibition which coincided with Layo Bright’s residency at the Tyler School of Art ran from November 12, 2022 to January 7, 2023.
The New-York based artist has had her works displayed in many group exhibitions in her home country, Nigeria and abroad. Clearly, she made the right choice by following her passion and it is most certainly paying off. Perhaps, she will inspire others faced with the confusing situation she successfully conquered.
