Virtual Event: Artist Talk with Diedrick Brackens

Don’t miss this special opportunity to hear from artist Diedrick Brackens in conversation with Blanton Curator Veronica Roberts. From Mexia, Texas, and currently based in Los Angeles, Diedrick Brackens honors Black and queer histories through textiles that imagine new futures through symbolic elements and evocative gestures. The Blanton’s presentation of ’darling divined’ includes nine narrative weavings that draw inspiration from diverse sources ranging from European tapestries and quilts from the American south to popular culture, such as the film Moonlight. Join us for this free talk to hear more from the artist about his inspirations and his practice.

’Diedrick Brackens: darling divined’ is on view through May 16, 2021. Learn more about the exhibition here.

About the Speakers

Diedrick Brackens (b. 1989, Mexia, TX) received a BFA from University of North Texas, Denton, TX (2011) and an MFA in textiles from California College of the Arts, Oakland, CA (2014). His work has been shown in solo exhibitions at Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; New Museum, New York; Various Small Fires, Los Angeles; Sewanee University Art Gallery, Tennessee; and Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, Kansas. In 2019, he became the first recipient of the Marciano Artadia Award and in 2018 he was awarded the Wein Prize by the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. His work is in the permanent collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas; Hammer Museum, Los Angeles; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; and the Oakland Museum of California. Brackens is represented by Various Small Fires, Los Angeles, CA / Seoul and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles.

Veronica Roberts joined the Blanton in 2013 as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. Among the exhibitions she has organized are: Converging Lines: Eva Hesse and Sol LeWitt, Nina Katchadourian: Curiouser, and Ed Ruscha: Drum Skins. Prior to working at the Blanton, Veronica worked at the Museum of Modern Art, Indianapolis Museum of Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

Feature Image: Diedrick Brackens, ’break and tremble,’ 2019. Woven cotton and acrylic yarn, 89 x 93 in. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; museum purchase funded by the African American Art Advisory Association, the Art Colony Association, Gregory Fourticq, the Arthur Robson, Jr. Bequest, Joan Morgenstern, Judy Nyquist, Penelope and Lester Marks, Kerry F. Inman, and by exchange: Marti Shlenker, Mrs. Thomas J. Gordon, Teresa and Dennis Ranzau, Rosalie Meador Thompson and Mrs. Robert Robertson, Jr. Image courtesy New Museum, New York. Photo by Dario Lasagni