Join Bryana Bibbs at Oliva Gallery for the Opening Reception of Numb.
Numb is a solo exhibition of works by Chicago-based artist Bryana Bibbs. The exhibition highlights the fast and slow navigation of past and current experiences through the use of intricacy, color, and form.
Telling stories of trauma and mental health is not always easy, based on the stigmas in our society, which is how it became a central motivation in Bibbs’s practice. While working between traditional and experimental processes, Bibbs’s large-scale pieces navigate past experiences in what Bibbs considers to be "chapters."
In earlier work, the urgency for Bibbs to understand her personal experiences translated into the fast processes of mark-making in painting. But as time progresses in Bibbs's most recent work, there are parallels between the slow navigation of personal experiences and the rhythmic textile techniques of hand-carding, hand-spinning, and handweaving, both of which are a form of transformative repetition.
While the exhibition shows the progression of time and process through Bibbs's perspective, it also allows viewers to navigate through their own physical or conceptual experience with the work.
"Numb is how I felt during these traumatic experiences I had gone through for nearly a decade. With this exhibition, I hope to continue to move forward in ending the stigma and encouraging others to share their stories of trauma in a way that is healthiest for them." - Bryana Bibbs