Portland, ME, September 4, 2020 – SISTERED is proud to announce the opening of IN THE CLEAR, the first exhibition in a new season of events. Originally hosted at the New System building at 82 Parris St, SISTERED has now moved on to its next iteration at 525 Danforth St in Portland, ME. IN THE CLEAR opens on September 19, with a socially-distant reception from 4-7pm. The exhibition will be on view through October 31, with open hours from 2-6pm on September 26, October 10, October 25, and October 31. 

IN THE CLEAR is an exhibition of paintings by Reggie Burrows Hodges and Jordan Seaberry. The artists present us with deeply layered works that move through scenes of the everyday into personal and generational histories. These narratives share themes of oppression, truth, and power dynamics, navigated through the artists’ own memories and experiences.

Reggie Burrows Hodges is a narrative figurative painter whose work centers around visual metaphor and storytelling. He works primarily large-scale on raw canvas, raw linen, wood and rag paper with acrylic and pastel – exploring themes such as identity, truth, surveillance, elitism, sport and often childhood memories. “My practice has been inspired by the study of moments and translating the essence of them through color, figuration, abstraction, and various techniques of mark making,” Hodges says. He often pulls inspiration from invented narratives, re-telling stories as a part of legacy, concerned with cultural dialogue and representations of the everyday.

Hodges recent solo exhibitions include Precision, Wagering and Melody at Dowling Walsh Gallery, Rockland, ME, Intersection of Color at the Press Hotel, Portland, ME, and Spot at Interloc Projects, Rockland, ME. His work was most recently included in the celebrated group exhibition (Nothing but) Flowers at Karma, NYC.

Hodges was born in Compton, California, he lives and works in Lewiston, Maine.

Jordan Seaberry has built a career as an artist and grassroots organizer. After receiving his BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2014, Seaberry helped to fight and pass multiple criminal justice reform milestones, including Probation Reform, the Unshackling Pregnant Prisoners Bill, and laying the groundwork for the “Ban the Box” movement in Rhode Island.

He currently works as the Director of Public Policy and Advocacy at the Nonviolence Institute, where he previously worked as the Homicide Victim Advocate. In addition, Seaberry serves as a Board Member at New Urban Arts in Providence, and Protect Families First, working on community-oriented drug policy reform. He has received fellowships from the Rhode Island Foundation, the Art Matters Foundation, and he currently serves as the Community Leader Fellow at Roger Williams University School of Law.

Seaberry attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2015. His work has been included most recently in the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art exhibition State of the Art 2020 and the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum New England Biennial, 2019. Recent solo exhibitions include We Speak Upon the Ashes at Steven Zevitas Gallery, Boston, MA, Black Light/Black Heat at Steam Gallery, Lincoln School, Providence, RI and A Blacker Landscape at University of Rhode Island, Providence, RI.

Seaberry was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago, and is currently based in Providence, Rhode Island.