XENOBIA BAILEY
Venus Over Manhattan announces Paradise Under Reconstruction in the Aesthetic of Funk: The Second Coming, the gallery’s debut solo exhibition with artist and cultural activist Xenobia Bailey. This landmark presentation explores her signature method of crochet, featuring some twenty recent and historic works that comprise an immersive installation.
May 15 - June 15, 2024
Notably, this presentation marks Bailey’s first gallery exhibition since the unveiling of “Funktional Vibrations” in 2015, the artist’s large-scale mosaic commissioned by the MTA for the 34th Street Hudson Yards subway station, one of the largest works ever commissioned by the authority. Staged in advance of Bailey’s participation in the Seattle Art Museum’s exhibition “Poke in the Eye: Art of the West Coast Counterculture,” the exhibition will feature a series of public programs that activate the presentation.
Xenobia Bailey is celebrated for her intricate work made with hand-crocheted yarn, particularly her vibrant, large-scale mandalas and narrative sculptures, all of which she crochets herself. Her works are characterized by their meticulous design and visual impact, incorporating a wealth of cultural references. Her exhibition at Venus Over Manhattan represents the most recent chapter in her ongoing, exploratory, and research-driven project Paradise Under Reconstruction in the Aesthetic of Funk, a multi-part installation that Bailey has continually developed for nearly three decades.
She came to view activities such as crafting, crocheting, and interior design not just as creative outlets, but as resilient and resourceful expressions of cultural identity. Supported by affirmative action, Bailey enrolled at the University of Washington, where “her world opened up to her.” She studied ethnomusicology—an inherently interdisciplinary and multicultural department—and took classes with Jacob Lawrence, whose work profoundly impacted her evolving aesthetic.
Drawing inspiration from African hairstyles, architectural forms, and ceremonial headdresses from various cultures, Bailey’s pieces moved beyond conventional crafting to become innovative, wearable sculptures. These works garnered quick attention, leading to features in Elle magazine and high-profile advertising campaigns for Benetton and Absolut Vodka.
At the core of Bailey’s work is the idea of “Funk,” and what she sees as its transformative potential for African American culture. For Bailey, Funk represents a celebration of ingenuity and cultural germination, a resistance to conventional norms, and a tribute to the improvisational spirit of creating from scarcity. This ethos is reflected in her work, where she uses materials and techniques that embody these values. Her precedents and inspirations in Funk are pioneers like George Clinton and the Afrofuturistic visions of Sun Ra.
Together with the revival tent, her works assemble an immersive environment that blurs the boundaries between art and spiritual sanctuary, celebrating cultural identity, and pursuing the betterment of our experience on the planet. These works extend Paradise Under Reconstruction in the Aesthetic of Funk by working to renew a sense of community and self-awareness stifled by historical circumstances, enjoining her viewers to “stand firm, keep your dreams alive, and press on to paradise.”