‘Black in Denver’ Artist Narkita Returns With ‘i found myself in the mountains’ at the CU Denver Experience Gallery
Narkita’s contemplative exploration of identity is on display from September 21, 2023 through January 14, 2024 in the CU Denver Experience Gallery, located in the Denver Performing Arts Complex.
CAM Communications | The College of Arts & Media Sep 7, 2023
Narkita’s presentation at CU Denver Experience Gallery interlaces text, textiles, photography, and found objects to create site-specific installations and photographic assemblages that reveal the complexities of her interior life.
Borrowed from a poem written by Narkita, i found myself in the mountains explores her role as a visual artist, writer, and storyteller. The exhibition represents a brief return to Denver for Narkita, who moved to New York City to attend NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts to earn a graduate degree in Arts Politics.
Those familiar with her vibrant photography may find elements of this new exhibition—which includes all new work since the artist’s popular 2020 series, Black in Denver—adding complexity to her existing works. The decision to share her interior life was born out of her interaction with the people who sat for her. “I thought about those who participated in Black in Denver and shared the complexities of their inner lives with me. It only felt appropriate for me to do the same, especially given the curator’s prompt,” she explains.
Narkita engages the self, the body, and her lived experience as the basis of her own theoretical thinking. Her careful intertwining of materials like indigo—which she’s researched for two years now—creates a universe that signals the legacy of the Atlantic world and reflects on the possibilities of a transgenerational reparative strategy.
Also featured in the exhibition is “the dash between”, a new collection of diaristic images that speaks to the role of memory in her work, fulfills her desire to document humanity, and invites us to contemplate the challenges and possibilities of our existence. Each moment in this presentation welcomes the viewer to envision an unwritten future rooted in care, love, and compassion.
African American spiritual traditions and eastern philosophy play leading roles in the exhibition and represent pathways intended to invite visitors to slow down, breathe, look deeper, and take notice. “i found myself in the mountains is about looking within; it’s about the quest for the true self. It’s also about never forgetting, living in the present, and looking forward,” Narkita adds.
The public is invited to join the artist for an opening reception on Thursday, September 21, 2023 from 5–7pm. Dynamic community engaged programming such as a series of meditation sits, virtual artist talk, and poetry reading will follow.
Exhibition Details
i found myself in the mountains
On Display: September 21, 2023 – January 14, 2024
CU Denver Experience Gallery
1025 13th St, Denver, CO 80202
[located in the Denver Performing Arts Center across from the Buell Theater]
Opening Reception Thursday, September 21, 2023 5-7pm
