ADIA MILLETT'S SPACE BETWEEN
This is the house that Adia built. This is the lamp that sits in the house that Adia built. This is the space that surrounds the lamp that lay in the house that Adia built. This is the memory inside the space that surrounds the lamp that lay in the house that Adia built. And these are the memories that the space evokes from the lamp in the house that Adia built. Although Adia Millett’s models are far from cumulative poetry or Mother Goose, her sculptures and accompanying photos build upon and speak to the space-between in “Blind Premonition” at the Mixed Greens Gallery in New York.
Millett’s miniature ochre-inspired structures employ space as a vehicle for memory and familiarity through the use of light, curious elements (an ax, chair and potato sack) and domesticity that welcomes viewers to the world of magic realism and reflection. Using the concept of home, Millett’s dollhouses of premonition challenges “the weight of our assumptions”. Models influenced draw from her stepfather’s architectural, Millett uses models with photography to create a theatrical set, positioning the audience as actors within the work, as well as spectators peering into a window. The UC-Berkley graduate’s exhibit highlights her demonstrated ability to create conceptual, subtle pieces with social undercurrents, encouraging personal reflection and dialogue. Drawing on the sentiments of Kerry James Marshall, Millett’ speaks about what she knows and is comfortable with-home, in all its comfort, fear, nostalgia and desire.
As a Studio Museum of Harlem artist-in-residence recipient 2001-2002 and Whitney Museum Independent Study Program participant, Millett’s installations continue to widen the scope of the space between and invite viewers to enter their happy, hidden place.
“Blind Premonition” continues at the Mixed Greens Gallery through October 6.