Art in the South Black Artists Female Artists

Abigail DeVille outdoor sculpture among the Momentary’s summer exhibts

By Chadd ScottMay 5, 20210 Comments

Abigail DeVille (American, b. 1981), ‘Light of Freedom,’ (2020). Welded Steel, cabling, rusted metal ball, mannequin arms, metal scaffolding, wood. 156x96x96 inches. Collection the artist © Abigail DeVille 2020. Photograph by Andy Romer Madison Square Park Conservancy. The exhibition was organized by Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York. Abigail DeVille ‘Light of Freedom’ was commissioned by Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York and was first exhibited in Madison Square Park.

A dramatic outdoor sculpture from Abigail DeVille is among the 2021 summer exhibitions on view at the Momentary in Bentonville, Arkansas. The schedule also includes Momentary-organized exhibitions Cauleen Smith: Space Station, Radiant behind the Sun and Kenny Rivero: The Floor Is Crooked, along with Garrett Bradley: American Rhapsody. There is no cost to view visual art exhibitions or outdoor installations at the Momentary.

“We are excited to continue our second year with a new outdoor installation and presentation of three solo visual art exhibitions that will offer new perspectives and conversations to our community,” Lieven Bertels, director of the Momentary, said. “Whether the artists are familiar to our visitors or completely unknown, they will be able to discover a new work responding to the past and present by Abigail DeVille, enjoy a multimedia exhibition that draws from Afrofuturism, science fiction, and experimental cinema by Cauleen Smith, explore race, class, social justice, and more through a multi-film installation by Garrett Bradley, and dive deeper into Kenny Rivero’s practice and themes that have been present in his work for the past decade.”

Abigail DeVille: Light of Freedom (through July 25, 2021)

Headshot of Abigail DeVille_Photo by Melissa Blackall, courtesy of the artist.

In Light of Freedom, DeVille reflects the despair and exultation of this turbulent period of pandemic and protest. She recognizes and hallows the earliest enslaved Africans who were brought to New Amsterdam, critiques the promise of American liberty through the arm and torch of the Statue of Liberty that were installed in Madison Square Park from 1876-1882, and summons the current Black Lives Matter movement as the sources for the work.

DeVille has exhibited at Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, Institute of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, New Museum in New York, and Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. She has received awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Van Lier Fund of New York Community Trust, and Creative Capital.

Abigail DeVille’s Light of Freedom was commissioned by Madison Square Park Conservancy, New York and organized by Brooke Kamin Rapaport and Tom Reidy. Following its time at the Momentary, Light of Freedom will be on view at Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (October 15, 2021 – April 17, 2022).