Curated by Nehemiah Dixon III & Spencer Dormitzer

Artists: Heliosa Escudero, Hebron Chism, Nicoletta De La Brown, Jeff Doran, Nekisha Durett, Rita Elsner, Emily Fransisco, Adam Griffith, Key Han, Jeffery Paul Herrity, Tom Hill, Wayson R. Jones, Chandi Kelley, Kelly King, Aaron Mertes, Joseph Orzal, Patrick McDonough, and Alma Slimovich.

Throughout time, there has always been a creative connection between artists and musicians, where inspiration and collaboration has flowed between the vocations seamlessly.

The outpouring of grief from the loss of two of the most influential pioneers in music, Prince and David Bowie has left a void that will never be filled. The innovation, courage and vulnerability that each musician demonstrated throughout their illustrious careers was ever-present. Contributions to their respective genres of music was palpable, but what set these great icons apart was the ability to transcend musical genres to inspire a larger audience; inter-generational, cross-cultural and the ability to swoon both men and women with their words and music.

Though Prince and Bowie Dominated the headlines, the year of 2016 has taken so many other influential musicians as well, such as Merle Haggard, Maurice White, Denise Katrina Matthews (Vanity), Glen Frey and Phife Dawg of Tribe Called Quest, to name a few. This is the reasoning for the ellipsis in the title of the exhibition, to allow the invited artist to tell their personal story and tribute.

These musical visionaries were true artists. What better way to pay tribute to these musicians than having artists create a visual remembrance. Just as Wassily Kandinsky painted Sound, these musicians played our lives.

This ambitious exhibition will invite 12-15 regional artists who have been inspired by one, or both of these tremendous musicians to create a visual tribute. This show will not only celebrate these musical pioneers who transcended their genres, but also explore the ideas of loss, connectivity with a brilliant stranger and examine contemporary art-making methods to acknowledge masters in other fields of creativity. This is not to be a simple portrait show of these iconoclasts or meditations in purple, but a farther-reaching exploration into personal inspiration.

Life Soundtrack - November 3, 2016 - Washington Post