LAYO BRIGHT
now represented by moniquemeloche
moniquemeloche is delighted to announce the representation of New York-based artist Layo Bright, who first exhibited at the gallery in 2021. Bright will have her first dedicated solo exhibition at moniquemeloche this November.
Layo Bright (b. Lagos, Nigeria) is an artist whose works explore themes of migration, inheritance, legacy and identity through hybrid portraits, textiles, and mixed media. Concerned with mining personal archives and collective experiences, she interrogates how materials shape perception, culture and politics. She draws inspiration from plant forms, family and ancestry in creating sculptural works that merge notions of nurture and legacy. Working with a range of materials such as glass, clay, wood and textiles, these forms mirror fragile yet complex relationships with the personal, natural and built environment.
Working with Ghana Must Go bags – which have become the ubiquitous plastic checkered bags often linked with migrants around the world, Bright juxtaposes the material with crushed glass, addressing overlooked histories and notions of class. In fusing these materials, she considers suppressed histories and the inevitability of migration in the current global climate.
Bright received her LL.B (Hons.) from Babcock University (2014), was called to the Nigerian Bar Association (2015) and received her MFA in Fine Art (Hons.) from the Parsons School of Design (2018). She is the recipient of honors and awards including the UrbanGlass Winter Scholarship Award (2020 and 2021), the International Sculpture Center’s 2018 Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award (2018); and the Beyoncé Formation Finalist Scholarship (2017). She has exhibited work internationally in exhibitions including Woman to Woman, Bode Projects, Berlin, Germany; House of Crowns, Phillips, NY; To Heal and Protect, Welancora Gallery, NY; I Am Not A Goddess…Unless I Say I Am, Mike Adenuga Centre, Lagos, Nigeria; Something About Us, Anthony Gallery, IL; A Chance Encounter, Parts & Labor, NY; Migration(s) and Meanings in Art, Meyerhoff Gallery at MICA, MD; Maid in Nigeria, Untitled AWCA, Lagos, Nigeria; Through Her Eye, Mana Contemporary, IL; Carry Over: New Voices from the Global African Diaspora, Smack Mellon, NY; among others.
She is currently an artist in residence in the Nxthvn Fellowship in New Haven, CT which will culminate in a group show at Sean Kelly Gallery NY this summer. Previous residencies include Triangle, Brooklyn, NY; Flux Factory, Queens, NY; The Studios at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA; Tri-tryagain Studio Residency, Brooklyn, NY; and International Studio Center Sculpture Residency at Grounds for Sculpture, Hamilton Township, NJ.
where to see more Layo Bright
Layo Bright, Abelmoschus esculentus (Okra), 2020
Online Viewing Room
moniquemeloche
April 8 – 10
NXTHVN Cohort3 Exhibition
Sean Kelly Gallery
New York, NY
June 9 – August 6
Layo Bright
solo exhibition
moniquemeloche, Chicago
November 5 – December 17
