What is my work about?
My work explores nostalgic futurism, amalgams of distorted traditions and symbols, handed down and mashed-up to fit our prospective needs. I recently built a rooftop sculpture in my hometown of Seattle. Visitors were invited to climb atop and view of Puget Sound or crouch to enter the ground-level attic space. Inside the attic there was a shrine- a wall made of elk-hide drums that they could play in exchange for their wish. In The Porch Project, I also used carpentry, a family tradition, to build a wall-to-wall porch in a gallery. To be in the space a visitor must choose to walk atop it or crawl beneath. The Porch hid two fort-like destinations beneath it: one to listen to oral histories from the local community and one to record their own to be added to the original archive. I am interested in not only creating site-specific liminal space for personal reclamation but also in questioning dominant narratives and creating alternatives to them.
Artist Statement
I recently found an essay in a library that a student wrote about an interview with my great-grandfather. In this essay my great-grandfather recalls what African tribe our family is from. I called my father in excitement, but he was apathetic. I forgot that, like so many men in his circumstance (first “free” generation in the States, moving North, alone at sixteen, an entrepreneur, etc.) my great-grandfather created his own identity. Our connection to this tribe was likely constructed by my great-grandfather for dramatic effect, not a lie per se, but a choice, a representation of truth, an illustration of who my great-grandfather saw himself to be. This persona he created was a graceful blend of fact and fiction, like an oral history that is transformed with each re-telling. In this way his whole being was aligned with the collective memory of Black Americans. This is an important inspiration for my work.
I mash up fabricated and historical belief systems; legends that have been bequeathed through generations mixed with invention and intuition to fit current cultural needs, creating new ritual to reclaim a sense of purpose and empower the individual. I make oracles.
An oracle’s legend is bequeathed. Therefore they reflect pieces of an original story and manufactured pages that were lost in translation. An oracle is somewhere/one/or thing that gives prophecy, wisdom or truth to the seeker. Instead of praying to a relic that someone else has infused with power, I want to flip the power and responsibility and create drawings and sculpture for self-reflection and reclamation.
“The process of recognizing truth is the same for writers and readers. In order to say good things, one’s hearing must be good and one must hear good things. The truth must be spoken deliberately and listened to deliberately. And for us writers it is important to whom we tell the truth and who tells it to us… And the audience is continually changing.” (B. Brecht. “Writing the Truth: Five Difficulties” 1935. p. 6.)
It is a human’s nature to want influence on their future, and to believe in something outside of themselves, to find their truth. In this way those who participate with my work may see it is they themselves who may furnish their oracular answers.
CV
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
2014 (upcoming)
Crossing Brooklyn, The Brooklyn Museum, NY
The Intuitionists, The Drawing Center, NY (collaborative solo with Steffani Jemison and Jina Valentine)
SIP 2013 Fellowship Show Part 2, Blackburn 20/20 Gallery, NY
The Porch Project, Figure One Gallery, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL (solo)
ACTION + OBJECT + EXCHANGE, The Drawing Center, NY
Out to See, Southstreet Seaport, NY. Curator: Sara Reisman
Material Memory, Aferro Gallery, Newark NJ. Curator: Barbara Madsen
Through the Parlour, No Longer Empty, NY.
2013
Oracular Rooftops, Cornish Alumni Gallery, Seattle, WA. (solo)
The Western Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off the Mother, Seattle Art Museum’s Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, WA
Curator: Sandra Jackson-Dumont (solo)
Hartlands, Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA. (solo)
Value Added: Artists’ Perspective on Meaning of Worth, TCNJ, Newark, NJ.
Breaks and Breaks, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA.
2012
The Bearden Project, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY. Curator: Lauren Haynes. (catalogue)
Rainbows, Fine Arts Work Center Gallery, Provincetown, MA. Invitational.
Barter Town (Trading Post X: Tomorrow-Morrow Land), sponsored by Dumbo Arts Festival, Brooklyn, NY.
The Eastern Oracle: We Will Tear the Roof Off the Mother, as part of Raw/Cooked, Brooklyn Museum of the Arts,
NY. Curator: Eugenie Tsai, Nominator: Mickalene Thomas. (solo)
2011
Barter Town (Trading Post VII: Between the Bridges), sponsored by Dumbo Arts Festival, NY.
With Food In Mind, Center for Book Arts, New York, NY. Curator: Nicole Caruth. (catalogue)
Call & Response, sponsored by Newark Arts Council, Newark, NJ. Curator: Jennifer Junkermeier. (catalogue)
2010
Juju for the Blood, in conjunction with Common Jive, EFA Project Space, NY. Curator: Julie Fishkin and Saya Woolfalk.
New Numinous Negro, William Cordova presents Heather Hart in conjunction with Greater New York, PS1MoMA, NY
Barter Town (Trading Post V: Juneteenth), sponsored by NYFA, Duarte Sq, New York, NY (solo event)
Skowhegan Alumni Exhibition, 92YTribeca, New York, NY. Curators: Grace Evans, Director, Zach Feuer Gallery,
Christina Ray, Director, Glowlab, Marisa Sage, Founder, Like the Spice Gallery. Invitational.
2009
Whitney ISP Studio Exhibition, Art In General, New York, NY. (catalogue)
2008
Archeologies of Wonder, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT. Curator: Kristina Newman-Scott.
1968: Then and Now, NYU, New York, NY. Curator: Deborah Willis. (catalogue)
Subpoena, Talman + Monroe Gallery, Brooklyn, NY Curator: Nico Wheadon.
Bang Bang, Jajo Gallery, NJ Curator: Deana Haggag. (catalogue)
Your Documents Please, Museum of Arts and Crafts – Itami. traveled. Curators: Daniel Georges and Rumi Tsuda.
Neo-Constructivism: Art, Architecture & Activism, Paul Robeson Galleries, NJ. Curator: Anonda Bell. (catalogue)
2007
Material Culture, Longwood Art Gallery, NY. Curators: Lisa Curran and Juanita Lanzo.
Off Color, Diaspora Vibe Gallery, Miami, FL, Corridor Gallery, NY Curators: Hank Willis Thomas and Kalia Brooks.
Strand, NYCAMS Gallery, New York, NY Curator: Rico Gatson
Jamaica Flux: Workspaces and Windows 2007, Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, Jamaica, NY (catalogue)
The Feminine Mystique, Jersey City Museum, Jersey City, NJ Curator: Rocio Aranda-Alvarado. (catalogue)
Workspace07, Queens Library Gallery, Jamaica, NY Curator: Juliana Driever.
Intersections, Abrons Arts Center, New York, NY (collaborative installation with Simone Leigh and Roberto Visani)
United Black Girls, Rush Arts Gallery, NY Curators: Derrick Adams and Vanessa Riding.
2006
Heather Hart: Red Desert, Servicio Ejecutivo, Brooklyn, NY
Heather Hart: Cozy, Cornish College of the Arts Main Gallery, Seattle, WA
Black Now, Longwood Art Gallery, NY Curator: Fred Wilson
Projects ’06, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, NY
EAF06, 20th Anniversary, Socrates Sculpture Park, Queens, NY (catalogue)
Voice, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI Juror: Kara Walker.
Boredom: I Learned It By Watching You, Portland Art Center, Portland, OR
Catalog, Soil Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
VISITING ARTIST LECTURES
2014
Artist Lecture, Franconia in the City, MN
Visiting Artist, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, IL
Artist Panel, ISCP, NY
2013
Artist Panel, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown, MA
2012
Artist Panel, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
Visiting Artist, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY (lectures, events and workshops)
2011
Visiting Artist, Mandel School, New York, NY (lectures and workshops)
Artist Talk, Barnard College, New York, NY
Visiting Artist, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY (lecture and critiques)
Artist Talk, The Center for Book Arts, New York, NY
2007
Artist Talk, Slide Night: Fun With Toys, Jersey City Museum, NJ
Artist Panel, JCAL, Jamaica, NY
Visiting Artist, Long Island High School, Long Island City, NY (lectures and month-long workshops)
2006
Visiting Artist, Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA (lecture and critiques)
Artist Panel, Rush Arts Gallery, New York, NY
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2014
Juror, Franconia Sculpture Park, 2014
2010
Co-Curator, The February Show, Ogilvy NYC, New York, NY
2008
Juror, New York Foundation for the Arts, Photography Fellowship 2008
ARTIST RESIDENCIES AND PROGRAMS
(upcoming) The Hermitage Artist Retreat, Englewood, FL
(upcoming) Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
2013-15
Open Sessions, The Drawing Center, NY
2013-14
LMCC Workspace, New York, NY
2012-13
Fine Arts Work Center, Provincetown, MA
2011
Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Studio Immersion Project Fellowship, New York, NY
2010
Franconia Sculpture Park, Franconia, MN
2008-09
Whitney Museum Independent Study Program, New York, NY
2006
Emerging Artist Fellowship, Socrates Sculpture Park, Astoria, NY
Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
2005
Skowhegan School for Painting and Sculpture, ME
1998-99
Seattle Center, Seattle, WA
GRANTS AND FELLOWSHIPS
2013
Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptors Grant
2012
Visual Art Fellowship, Fine Art Work Center, Provincetown, MA
2011
Artist’s Fellowship Award
Gottlieb Foundation Grant
Harvestworks Educational Grant, New York, NY
The Viewing Program, curated artist registry, The Drawing Center, New York, NY
Jerome Foundation Travel & Study Grant
2010
FSP/Jerome Fellowship for Artist in Residence, Franconia Sculpture Park, Franconia, MN
2009
NYFA Fellowship
2007
Dadalus Grant Nominee, Mason Gross School of Art, Rutgers University, NJ
2006
Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Artist in Residence, Santa Fe Art Institute, Santa Fe, NM
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
“Numinous,” Composite Arts Magazine. Lore. No.16 (Summer 2014): 12 – 22.
Baptiste, Jean. “Heather Hart,” Clam Magazine. Destination. 27 (Spring/Summer 2014)
Czarnota, Natalie. “Pay Attention to the Woman Behind the Porch Project,” Buzz Weekly. (21 March 2014)
Merli, Melissa. “Artist Brings Participatory Sculpture to Champaign,” News-Gazette. (19 Feb 2014)
Wilson, Gemma. “View from the Top,” CityArts Magazine. (30 July 2013)
“A Submerged House Worthy of ‘The Wizard of Oz’ Lands in Seattle,” Architizer. (2 July 2013)
Manitach, Amanda. “Permission to Play,” CityArts Magazine. (25 June 2013)
Schultz, Erika. “Temporary Exhibit Installed at Olympic Sculpture Park,” The Seattle Times. (16 June 2013)
Graves, Jen. “Fabricating Belief,” The Stranger. (5 June 2013)
Haynes, Lauren, Dierdra Harris-Kelley, Thelma Golden. The Bearden Project. New York: Sudio Museum in Harlem, 2012.
Morse, Trent. “Critic’s Pick,” ARTnews. 111 (November 2012): 160.
Oh, Inae. “Dumbo Arts Festival Preview…” Huffington Post. (10 September 2012)
Caruth, Nicole. “Tooth for Tooth,” Gastronomica Journal of Food and Culture. 12:3 (Fall 2012): 61 – 64.
Marshall, Virginia R. “Free NYC: Exploring on a College Student Budget,” The Harvard Crimson. (31 July 2012)
“Friends with Benefits: Established Artists ID the Next Art Stars,” ArtsObserver. (06 July 2012)
Zimmer, Lori. “Rack Room: Interview with Heather Hart,” ARTSlant. (June 2012)
Keck, Catie. “Design News: Brooklyn as Muse,” New York Magazine. (23 May 2012)
“At Brooklyn Museum Heather Hart Encourages Everyone to Climb Onto the Roof,” Arts Observer. (15 May 2012)
Forgenie, Cacy. “Artist Heather Hart Discusses The Eastern Oracle at the Brooklyn Museum,” Life and Times. (08 May 2012)
“Critic’s Picks” TimeOutNY 856 (19 – 25 April 2012): 44.
Thomas, Jessica. “At the Brooklyn Museum, You’re The Oracle.” NY Times Local. (03 April 2012)
Sutton, Joseph. “Brooklyn Museum Featuring Bed-Stuy Artist This Spring” Brooklyn Exposed. (26 March 2012)
Croghan, Lore. “Artist raises the roof in art exhibit” NY Daily News. (15 March 2012)
“Heather Hart: Raw/Cooked,” NYArtBeat. (January 2012)
Heyden Guest, Anthony. “Heart to Hart.” The Art Newspaper. XXI, No. 233. (March 2012) 52.
Moran, Jaret. “Brooklyn Artists Reinterpret the Brooklyn Museum,” ARTLOG. (January 2012)
Caruth, Nicole. With Food in Mind. New York: Center for Book Arts, 2011.
Hirsch, Faye. “Brooklyn Museum Cooks Up Yearlong Local Program” Art in America. (08 August 2011)
Sickler, Erin. “Short List” Bric Arts Media. (October 2010)
Ackerman, Ruthie. “Whitney Celebrates Founder and Fashion.” ArtInfo (18 June 2009)
Reisman, Sara, … Rigby, Scott. The Field Guide to the Rather Round Table. New Brunswick: Lulu Press, 2008.
McKie, S.Zuri, … Jeff-Baysa, Koan. Jamaica Flux: Workspace & Windows 2007. New York: JCAL, 2008.
Veneciano, Jorge Daniel, ed. Neo-Constructivism: Art, Architecture and Activism. Newark: Paul Robeson Galleries, 2008. 15, 56-59.
Hoffman, Hank. “Diverse ‘Archaeology of Wonder’ show at Real Art Ways” Connecticut Art Scene. (10 December 2008)
The Feminine Mystique: Contemporary Artists Respond. Jersey City: Jersey City Museum, 2007. 8, 23.
EAF06. Dalton, MA: The Studley Press, Inc, 2007. 6, 22-23.
Winterton, Danielle. “Library gallery charts path from artist’s idea to exhibit.” Times Ledger (26 July 2007)
Caruth, Nicole. “Getting Cozy: A Studio Visit: Heather Hart.” Fluent Collaborative: Might Be Good. 87 (27 April 2007)
Cotter, Holland “United Black Girls.” The New York Times. (30 March 2007)
Baker, R.C. “Go Girls.” The Village Voice. (15 March 2007)
Saltz, Jerry. “Yurts and Stalagmites: Outdoor sculpture as more than decorative object or propaganda tool.” The
Village Voice. (11 October 2006)
PUBLISHED WRITINGS
Paper Monument, ed. Draw It With Your Eyes Closed: The Art of the Assignment. New York: n+1 Foundation, Inc. 2012: 8.
Jamaica Flux: Workspace & Windows 2007. New York: Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning, 2008: 28 – 30.
EDUCATION
MFA 2008 Interdisciplinary major Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University
with courses at the Center for African American Studies, Princeton University
BFA 1998 Painting and Video major Cornish College of the Arts
2008-09 Visual Program Whitney Independent Study Program
2005 Participant Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture