The term Undercurrents—an underlying feeling that runs contrary to prevailing culture or the flow of deep water that moves in a different direction than water at the surface—aptly fits printmaker and fiber artist Jerushia Graham’s exhibition that opens April 18 and continues through June 15, 2019 in the Albany Museum of Art’s East Gallery.
“The prints, papercuts, and fabric pieces that make up Undercurrents explore the discontent, unrest, and tension felt by many in an increasingly polarized society,” Graham said.
That polarization comes in many forms, she says.
“A widening socio-economic divide, daily injustices perpetrated towards anyone who is perceived as ‘other,’ and the continued struggle for gender equality fuel frustrations that lie just beneath the surface of our daily interactions,” Graham said. “Undercurrents expresses this slow-burning unrest and an uneasiness about the future.”
Graham, based in Atlanta, is the museum coordinator for the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking. She earned an MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pa., and BFA degrees in Fabric Design and Printmaking from the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. Today, Graham exhibits both nationally and internationally.
She was previously the education director for Atlanta Printmakers Studio, and has served as an arts professor for Kennesaw State University, the University of West Georgia, and the Art Institute of Atlanta-Decatur. Graham developed arts programming for The Hudgens Center for Art & Learning in Duluth, Ga.; Spelman College Museum of Fine Art; The African American Museum of Philadelphia; the Fabric Workshop & Museum; Spiral Q Puppet Theater, and numerous community arts centers. She has also produced curatorial projects for the Zora Neale Hurston Museum in Eatonville, Fla., and The Hudgens Center.
Graham notes that she is interested in nurturing socially-minded introspection through her artwork and in building welcoming collaborative arts experiences through her workshops and curatorial projects.
