ADORNMENT Opens In The Millstone Gallery At COCA September 20

COCA-Center of Creative Arts announces its fall exhibition, Adornment featuring five artists: Seth Aryee, Basil Kincaid, Yowshien Kuo, Yolanda Newson, and Yvonne Osei. Curated by Yvonne Osei, COCA's Curator-In-Residence, the exhibition opens with an artist reception Friday, September 20, 2019, in the Millstone Gallery.

Adornment explores the artist (adorner), the creative process (adorning) and the art (adorned), with a focus on the human form - its presence, stature, functionality, capabilities, expression and dynamism. It also explores how adornment can foster associations and disassociations through symbols of luxury, group affiliations, celebration and festivities, as well as conformance and defiance of authority.

COCA will host an Opening Reception for Adornment September 20, from 5:30-7:30PM featuring small bites, drinks, and live music by Makeda Kravitz. Osei will collaborate with two St. Louis licensed barbers to transform the Millstone Gallery space into a barbershop. The community will have the opportunity to participate.

Adornment featured artists:

Seth Aryee Seth is a Ghanaian-born artist based in Minnesota, USA. He works in the medium of photography to highlight the glamour in dark complexions and to promote the relevance of black identities. During Seth's upbringing, he experienced numerous negative perspectives about dark skin, a complexion that he wore himself. Over the years, he has dedicated his creative work to positively influencing the way people see and interact with black subjects who dominate his photographs. He would like to be remembered as the artist that glorifies brown-skinned people.

Basil Kincaid Basil is a post-disciplinary artist from St. Louis, Missouri. Kincaid studied drawing and painting at Colorado College, graduating in 2010. Kincaid has exhibited work internationally in Malmö Sweden, Taipei Taiwan, Montpellier France, and Accra Ghana. He has also exhibited nationally in New York, Miami, Boston, San Francisco, and with Kavi Gupta Gallery in Chicago. Kincaid's work focuses primarily on legacy, heritage, reclamation, healing, labor, and self-mastery. His next solo show opens this September in London at Carl Kostyal Gallery.

Yowshien Kuo Yowshien is a visual artist based in St. Louis, Missouri. He was educated in the United States and Taiwan, receiving his MFA in 2014. Yowshien has participated in group exhibitions at Granite City Art and Design District, The Luminary and LVL3 in Chicago. His solo exhibition was with The Bermuda Project. Yowshien works as a professor and co-owner of Monaco in St. Louis. In his work, the connotations that exist in our relationship to textiles and the clothing we wear are highlighted to intentionally challenge notions of fact and sociological discourse.

Yolanda Newson Yolanda is an award-winning jewelry and accessories designer and the owner of Yoro Creations. She is a St. Louis native who credits her father for instilling in her the love for handcrafted artistry and the spirit of entrepreneurship. In 2012, Newson attended Grace Hill Womens' Business Center. She works with recycled materials, found objects, metals, crystals and textiles. Her designs have been featured in several of magazines and fashion shows including Ebony magazine, ALIVE Magazine, Kansas City Fashion Week and the sitcom Zoe Ever After.

Yvonne Osei Yvonne is a German-born Ghanaian conceptual artist, curator and art educator with a transnational creative practice. Her work explores the topics of beauty and colorism, the politics of clothing, and how global trade and colonialism impact post- colonial West African & Western cultures. Osei received her M.F.A. from Washington University in St. Louis. She is the recipient of the 2018 Saint Louis Visionary Award for Emerging Artist, 2018 Creative Stimulus Award, 2019 Future Fund Award in St. Louis and is represented by the Bruno David Gallery. Osei is the inaugural Curator in Residence at the Center of Creative Arts.