Full Range at NIAD Arts Center

Gabriella Willenz [MFA 2019] and Amanda Eicher [MFA 2010], Executive Director of NIAD, at Gabriella’s NIAD opening on July 12, 2019.

In the heart of Richmond, a thriving multi-building arts center called NIAD (Nurturing Independence through Artistic Development) serves artists with a full range of arts resources, from ceramics to support for openings. NIAD made news with member Marlon Mullen, whose works are both at the Whitney Biennial and at the SFMOMA SECA show.

Amanda Eicher [MFA 2010], the Executive Director of NIAD a graduate of the UC Berkeley Art Practice program, and an outstanding artist, was delighted to have NIAD feature the work of Gabriella Willenz [MFA 2019] for the front space of the NIAD gallery. This is Gabriella Willenz’s first solo show at NIAD Art Center. The work, which engages similar issues as her recent MFA show at BAMPFA, connects in deep ways with the work of other NIAD members.

Willenz’s work shows how language patterns are vehicles of ideologies which are also manifested out by national defense forces. Her more lyrical works intend to unmoor the building blocks of these ideologies, which she shows as being heavy, yet fragile, and opaque, yet airy. All together, the show’s works may leave visitors with unsettling questions about what is so normal about “normal”.

The show is open through July 2019. Hours are Monday through Friday from 10:00 – 4:00 pm Saturdays from 12:00 – 4:00 pm.