Formation
featuring work by Emily Mayo, Jenelle Esparza, & Earline Green
Sept 11 thru Nov 12, 2022
What does it take to build something new? Desire, resilience, faith, and a foundation. Formation explores the idea of building on assets such as home and land as the basis for creating something larger than oneself. As a newly-formed Black- and Latino-led organization nested in a historically Black and Latino neighborhood, Kinfolk House recognizes that it is truly a blessing not only to keep a family home, but also to transform it into something larger than a single person or family. Because of long-standing inequities rooted in systemic racism, too often, Black and brown families are unable to keep significant assets like property, in order to build generational wealth.
As we bring our first year to a close, Kinfolk House presents Formation, a project featuring sculptural works that speak to important themes in the underpinnings of our organization. Through installation, textiles, and ceramics, artists Emily Mayo, Jenelle Esparza, and Earline Green investigate home, land, labor, rebirth, and legacy.
Featured Artists:
Born in Flint, Michigan, Emily Mayo’s work is deeply inspired by her spiritual upbringing, and focuses on compassion for the individual. Working in a variety of mediums including drawing, sculpture, and installation her pieces have been showcased in exhibitions around the U.S. including Indiana, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, the Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, and the Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati, Ohio. Her work has been featured in several publications including the 13th Manifest INDA, ArtMaze Magazine in London, and three drawing instructional books.
She has participated in several artist residencies including a full fellowship to Vermont Studio Center. Mayo received an MFA in Drawing from Kendall College of Art and Design in 2018. She currently teaches in the Art & Art History Department at Hope College in Holland, MI and lives in Grand Rapids, MI, USA.
Jenelle Esparza is an interdisciplinary artist who was born in the coastal city of Corpus Christi, TX. Her work examines the lesser-known history of cotton and labor in South Texas through photography and textiles and incorporates concepts of body movement, history, gender, identity, culture, and race. Her recent projects consider the intersections of Mexican and American culture and the implications of generational trauma.
Esparza has exhibited nationally in institutions such as The DePaul Art Museum in Chicago, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and The Momentary in Bentonville, AR; and Lousiana State University in Baton Rouge. She is the recipient of numerous honors including the 2015 National Association of Latino Arts and Culture (NALAC) Artist Grant and the summer 2018 Artpace International Artist Residency. Her work is included in the permanent collection of the San Antonio Museum of Art. She holds a BFA in photography from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2010. She currently lives and works in San Antonio.
Earline Green is a career educator and renowned ceramic artist with work in public and private collections. She is best known for the 2006 Public Art Commission for the Paul Laurence Dunbar Library in Dallas, TX, and recognized internationally through the Paragon Kilns’ Ads highlighting her Legacy Ceramic Tile Murals.
She has artwork published in 500 Prints in Clay, 500 Tiles: Inspiring Collection of International Work and Image Transfer on Clay books, and Pottery Making Illustrated magazine. Green is an advocate for the Empty Bowls Project. In 2015, she represented the Tarrant County College South Campus Ceramics Program at the 25th Anniversary Celebration for Empty Bowls in Providence, Rhode Island. At the peak of the South Campus Ceramics Program, an average of 200 bowls were donated to each the Tarrant Area and North Texas Food Banks.
Green holds a BFA in Advertising Design from Austin Peay State University and an MFA in Ceramics from Texas Woman’s University.
