November 13th, 2021 – January 8th, 2022
On Saturday, November 13th, at 7pm, Leon will premiere Tya Alisa Anthony’s much anticipated exhibition “Muscle Memory.” Since her debut exhibition “Skins” at Leon in early 2017, Anthony has become a central figure within the Denver art community, as an artist, a curator, and an educator. She is a Redline Residency Artist Alumna, has had her worked featured in MCA – Denver’s Octopus Initiative, has been acquired by The Denver Art Museum for their permanent collection, and curated “From This Day Forward” at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art in spring of 2021. Recently she was awarded a sizable grant from The Sharon Prize, to assist her with the preparation of her upcoming exhibition at Leon.
Due to safety concerns for our artist and our community we have suspended the Tea with Tya appointments.
Artist Statement:
Muscle Memory is an interactive performance, photographic and sculptural exploration intended to offer communal healing and catharsis in honor of those who have lost their lives due to the global coronavirus pandemic, civil unrest, police violence and those incarcerated in the preschool to prison pipeline. While reflecting on Black and African-American experience, healing practices and traditions, hand plastered white flowers and framed white plastered bouquets that look like the plaster is still dripping, float along wall papered walls encasing the space with images of the black body in movement, rest and play. The wall paper reflects a patterned collage of photographs of the black experience and community representing contrasting monuments for those stories that continue to plague our radios, televisions, newsfeeds, social media and advocacy spaces. Inspired by a fusion of African, Indigenous, European and Dutch healing influences, I will sit on alternating days one on one with viewers where I offer a warm cup of tea and conversation offering comfort and space to be heard.
Artist Bio:
Tya Alisa Anthony is an Interdisciplinary Artist + Curator, who explores themes of social justice, human rights and identity. She incorporates photography, collage, and sculpture to give a voice to narratives of often marginalized people as well as the social, economic, and natural environments that surround them. She is interested in reimagining histories and in creating autonomous spaces for bodies of color.
As the Founder of Mahogany Vu Contemporary Art, an online thriving gallery for BIPOC, Tya recently curated a thought provoking and socially responsible, action driven exhibit, FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, shown at the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (BMOCA) where eight diverse artists of multiple practices and mediums addressed and explored how we as a society move toward true equity.
She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree, (SUMMA CUM LAUDE) honored as Valedictorian, from Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design. Presently, living and working in the city of Denver, producing performance, photography + installations. She is currently a TANK Studios artist, 2018 Redline Residency Artist Alumni and serve on the Advisory Board for Leon Gallery, a non-profit gallery and creative space dedicated to mentoring emerging artists across multiple disciplines, along with the Board of Tilt West, a non-profit dedicated to fostering critical dialog in art and culture in Denver and the Colorado Photographic Arts Center advisory board. Tya has exhibited in Baltimore, MD and the Colorado region including a permanent collection commissioned by the Octopus Initiative of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Center for Visual Arts, Leon Gallery, and at RedLine.
Halah Mohammed’s exhibition review can be read here
