The Beloved Community Show at RISD's Exposé Gallery

One of the shows that García and I curated this year was the massive Beloved Community Show at The RISD Exposé Gallery in honor of MLK's birthday, which featured over 50 works by 20 artists. It was the largest gathering of people from both RISD, Brown and the Providence arts community that the space had ever had, well over 300, which was a magnificent feat. The night was full of love and it was wonderful to see people engaged and excited. We will have other opportunities to curate in the near future, and we couldn't be more excited. Below is a review of the event and images.

The Beloved Community Show Review and Images

New Work by García Sinclair and me at the RISD Museum.

After a grueling Fall Semester at RISD, and certainly very little time for anything other than building new works, I have finally come to a bit of a resting stance where I can look back a bit on all the wonderfulness and learning that has happened.

The first large achievement to mention is García Sinclair and my second time winning the annual RISD Museum Sitings competition where students propose site specific works and the Museum through a generous grant supports the artist by providing financial assistance for supplies and also offers a bit of prize money. The largest gift here for us is that we get to work with the amazing Museum team at RISD.

Our proposal was to take a small element, a prism and transform a room into an experience. We used over 3,500 hand strung prisms and counter balanced them over brushed steel tension rods. The installation is entitled Light Source Seeking Surface for Transparent Relationship. The installation is what García and I playfully call, all weather ready. It has a different feel in the sun, in the rain, snow and at night from outside the walls gleam with color. We had hoped that the room would be transformative and inspirational, but I think it has blown past even what we thought we knew it could do. This is why I love art and art creation. There are always moments or surprise, pain, euphoria and teaching.

See for yourself how the project has gone by following the links and images.

RISD Museum Sitings 2014

Busy Busy

Hello Friends,
I have been significantly busy in the past few months. Numerous shows are coming up, but I figured I would tell you about two that I am in currently. In NYC, in Brooklyn, I have three works being shown at Wayfarers Gallery. You can check them out here. The show is called Ransom, and there is a great true story constructed of 350 words created by artists. A catalogue is coming out in the near future, so I will share photos when that happens. In the meantime, if you happen to be in the area, stop by.

The other show that I have the privilege of being in is called Under the Influence and is currently on view at the RISD Museum. I have a work in the show entitled InSite. Check it out below. The show is up til early February.

RISDiversity-A Community Narratives Project

It was a highlight of last semesters Spring session to be invited to participate in RISD's RISDiversity, A Community Narratives Project which highlights exceptional students, faculty and staff on campus. I was very fortunate to be included in this incredible session and had the honor of being photographed by Adam Mastoon. Even better was being able to pose with García Sinclair. It was all such a truly wonderful experience!

Check out the link here

The New New - Street Art & the Wooster Collective 2003-2013

I just got wind of the Wooster Collective, located in NYC who are just celebrating their first 10 years (actually a bit more, but 10 officially) and they have linked up with urban artists such as Shepard Fairy, Buff Monster, Daleast and more. The show is up until August 24th, and I likely won't make it, but at the very least this collective is now officially on my radar! I am inspired and excited about their work.

Check it all out here...

Wooster Collective

The Golden Circle by Simon Sinek

Why, How, What!!!

Listen to this quick Ted talk by Simon Sinek about how innovators think from the inside out. This is a remarkable lecture about inspiration and affect through communication. People don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it! A real eye opening talk, one that made me really think about how I put work into the world. Enjoy

Simon Sinek

Guggenheim releases a short film about "Aten Reign's" lighting system

Looking forward to going to see James Turrell's "Aten Reign". Just released is a video about the lighting process that was behind this enormous installation. 

Click the link below to see this behind the scenes look at Turrell's newest work.

James Turrell

Announcing My NEW WEBSITE!!! NafisWhite.com

After a semester of fighting with a wordpress template and then walking away from the interface entirely, I have decided to go with a new format and after a month and a half of image gathering, fine tuning, and learning ( & relearning) I am pleased to present to you my new website! It will be updated regularly with new works. I am so excited to have finally figured all this out! 

So, please stop by often to say hello.

Don't Forget to Thank Your Heroes & Sheroes

So many times in our busy lives we move from one thing to the next so quickly without stopping to smell the roses, especially in this dawn of technological breakthrough. In 3 minutes, you can check email, text a friend, update your status and write on your blog, all while waiting for the light to change so you can cross the street.

I would like to remind you to make time to acknowledge the people who got you where you are. It didn't happen magically, we didn't just arrive at a place, we were brought their through community, through generosity, belief, support and above all LOVE. 

So today I salute a professor of mine whom I had the great opportunity and privilege to learn from. He is a masterful painter, he can draw superbly and is above all a sterling individual. 

Meet Rick Rodrigues...

Shout Out! Holly Gaboriault & The RI Art Archive Project

Rhode Island, the Creative Capital has many hidden gems, particularly their inhabitants. Often the people you pass on the street who look unassuming are powerhouse artists who have made Rhode Island their home. And lucky for us! But what happens when you don't know how to access these incredible talents? How do you meet them and support their work?

Holly Gaboriault's brainchild, the Rhode Island Art Archive Project makes finding these talented folks easier than ever. She and her film crew have been spending countless hours visiting artists, and documenting the exchanges on video. I highly recommend checking out the RI Art Archive Project's Blog to meet brilliant artists living in the state, smartly called "In The Studio".  The premiere is coming this October 2013. I am overwhelmed with excitement around this event and will post more information as we near the opening.

Go Here for the RI Art Archive Project Blog

New York Summer Bucketlist #2 - The Guggenheim & James Turrell

Being surrounded by the fabrication and then containment and display of objects has led me to think about sculpture in different ways. What happens when these objects outgrow their space and cannot be contained any longer? Where does the work go when it is not being enjoyed by an audience? How can you make the work more sustainable, take up less space and resources? If sculpture moves away from its traditional iterations what does it become, and is it still sculpture?

Everything must transform and become something else over time and we see that sculpture is morphing into a new representation and the new exhibition at the Guggenheim certainly salutes this transition. James Turrell uses light as sculpture and creates a conical form that goes high into the air of the rotunda to support the visual aspect of the work. The lighting embraces the viewer in tones and serves as a meditative landscape. Sculpture has become more and more about experience for me and less about the fabricated object. I look to Ann Hamilton's Event of a Thread and the recent show at the New Museum as examples of this phenomenon.

What's more, I look forward to seeing this in person later this month.

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view/james-turrell

New York Summer Bucketlist #1 - The Rain Room at MoMA

The Rain Room

Showing at MoMA until July 28th.

I will be going.

In Preparation of New Works

I have been wanting to start out on new works and have been so busy that it has been difficult to set aside time to make. I miss using my hands to create and to think. Sometimes I feel that I am lost but it is the loss of this tactility that creates a void in my world. Not to say that worthwhile endeavors haven't happened lately. I have recently finished my first year at RISD, I assisted Admissions and CSI with new student orientation and I am working 40 hours a week in the Foundry. There are six more weeks left before I begin preparations for classes and my goal is to make new works each week. I will chronicle them here as they come forth into existence. 

Before those pictures come, here are some snaps of Waiting for Godot in process and finished. 

John Cage's 4 minutes and 33 seconds

And Sometimes You Just Have to Kiss It

I feel like this at times, an overpowering urge to kiss an amazing piece of work right square on the mouth. In recent weeks I have fallen back in love with the work of John Cage, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Janine Antoni. 

I have been speaking with friends often about the experience of art, the experience of life and living. I have had the good fortune of being able to travel recently and take in my surroundings, the sounds, touch, feeling and smell of a place. I have been to Newport and Colt State Park, to Tillinghast Farm and Chatham's gorgeous beaches. I have been smitten by nature and am ready to get back to work in the studio. Experience, the experience and the memory it leaves. This is what matters more and more.

Stefan Sagmeister - Design Design Design

After first being introduced to Stefan Sagmeister by way of TED talks, I am somehow being drawn to him again today. I have been thinking about design and sculpture, how to take more risks and really push my boundaries and I really enjoy how he continues to keep reinventing himself.

Recently he has started a new partnership called Sagmeister & Walsh which I find really interesting. The work coming out of the studio is super promising and is a reminder to me to keep pushing boundaries, challenge myself and others, work smarter and keep sharing the Love.

Incidentally I need his book now more than ever...Things I Have Learned. Check out his TED Talk from 2009 below entitled The Power of Time Off.

Local Love From Radish!

Thanks to García's keen eyes, she found a mention about us in a local blog. We first met Tim at Radish, a food truck that specializes in local delicious fresh food for those on the go particularly around the campuses of RISD, Brown & JWU. García and I make jewelry and on this occasion we were at the RISD Student Sale in May working out table when he came up and picked out a pin he liked. Find the link to the article below. Gotta appreciate the love!!! Thanks for supporting RISD artists Tim!!!

Here is what he said about us with a pic of the walnut and cherry wood pin he bought...

"I am glad that I decided to walk around the Art Sale before it was over because I found a gem. I fell in love with a hand made pin. If you go to RISD you may know Nafis White & Garcia Sinclair they sold me a pin that I plan on wearing daily. Check out the pin above it showcases a man climbing a mountain. The reason I picked this one out of about 25 pins is simple. In life i have always been faced with some type of mountain to climb. Each and every obstacle has turned me into a creative problem solver. There is not 1 mountain I can’t climb and over come. I’m excited for my future and I wonder what the next challenge is! Thanks for the amazing pin ladies I will wear it proudly thats for sure." - Timothy Silva

http://whereisradish.com/

RISD Year 1 = Success! & My Bones are Tired

It has been beyond an informative and shaping year for me. My mind has been blown in ways I had only dreamed and I have been most fortunate to befriend a bevy of really fucking amazing people. My professors, my peers, the staff I have the pleasure of working with and the support of my wife and family has kept me centered and my eyes have been on the prize without pause. Here's a little trip down memory lane for you, my work over the course of two semesters. A project a week. That's how they roll out here. Some are installations, others are large scale works and some are smaller. They all required so much and I learned a colossal amount. Cray in the best way.

Cheers!

Making Waves at RISD

Well, here it is, a mention on the RISD website regarding our collaborative piece, Waiting for Godot. I am so proud, honored and excited. And, it comes the day the Supreme Court is hearing a case regarding the constitutionality of Prop 8, the anti-gay California measure and arguments around marriage equality. What a big day in so many ways.

Check the article here

Yoko Ono - Half a Wind Show

Yoko Ono - Nuff Said

Check her out in Frankfurt...

Half a Wind Show