Diedrick Brackens: darling divined

The Blanton Museum of Art at The University of Texas at Austin will present Diedrick Brackens: darling divined, the seventh Contemporary Project in the series from October 17, 2020 to May 16, 2021.

“It feels like a homecoming,” says Diedrick Brackens, of having an exhibition soon to be on view in the Lone Star State. From Mexia, Texas, and currently based in Los Angeles, Brackens honors Black and queer histories through textiles that imagine new futures through symbolic elements and evocative gestures.

This presentation of darling divined, originally organized by the New Museum, includes nine narrative weavings that draw inspiration from diverse sources ranging from European tapestries and quilts from the American south to popular culture, such as the film Moonlight. One of the key works, bitter attendance, drown jubilee (below), commemorates three Black teenagers who died in 1981 while in police custody in Mexia. As Brackens recently articulated: “I created the weaving as a way to tell the story and re-imagine its violent ending. To honor the lives lost, the boys are returned to the world transformed as catfish.”

Diedrick Brackens: darling divined is organized by New Museum, New York. The exhibition is curated by Margot Norton, Curator, and Francesca Altamura, former Curatorial Assistant. The Blanton Museum of Art’s presentation is organized by Veronica Roberts, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art.

Funding for this exhibition at the Blanton is provided in part by Fredericka and David Middleton, and the Loraine O’Gorman Gonzales Creative Craft Fund.