Cedric Mizero : Open Studio
PRESENTED BY CRENSHAW DAIRY MART GALLERY
On view from September 12, 2022 through October 7, 2022
Cedric Mizero is a Rwandan artist and filmmaker whose work is characterized by his investigation of personal and collective memories, design, and aesthetics. The Crenshaw Dairy Mart is pleased to present an intimate selection of works from the series, Protection, for OPEN STUDIO. The series, Protection, is part of a large body of mixed media artworks Mizero has been developing since 2017.
The works from the series navigate much of the artist’s personal and collective memories anchored in the artist and Rwanda’s relationship to the church. Throughout the series, Mizero utilizes textile in relationship to bodies that become armored through religious iconography such as rosaries and medallions, citing the two as his primary medium in the series. Mizero’s artworks and projects are largely mobilized through community collaborations and conversations with upwards of 100 women artisans and craftworkers in his hometown of Kigali, as well as across Rwanda. These collaborations are a large part of Mizero’s discourse in creating work which is centered in the healing of collective memory in community, as well as building resilience through community efforts. For Mizero’s work, this resilience and healing is created over time and is in conversation with a history of indigenous practices which have centered collective fiber work as a practice towards collective healing. This is largely prevalent in the collective, intricate beading, weaving, embroidery, and embellishments in his sculptures and mixed-media works developed across conversations with his communities.
As part of Cedric Mizero : OPEN STUDIO, the artist presents an intimate screening of Protection (2021), a short film developed by the artist as part of the residency, Aby Concept.* Cedric Mizero is the director of Umutima / The Heart (Rwanda, 2022), Dreaming My Memory (Rwanda, 2019), and New Life in the Village (Rwanda, 2019). He is the production designer, costume designer and provided artistic direction to Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman’s Neptune Frost (Rwanda / USA, 2021). Cedric Mizero’s work has previously been exhibited at Galerie Cécile Fakhoury (Abidjan, Ivory Coast), 180 Strand (London, UK), and Kigali Fashion Week (Kigali, Rwanda) and is currently on view at the Frick Art Museum (Pittsburgh, USA) in collaboration with FashionAFRICANA.
*Spiritual Armor: An Interview between Cedric Mizero and Kami Gahiga
Cedric Mizero, Open Studio. Installation View. 2022. Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Protection 5, Photograph printed on canvas and embellished with red beads and medallions, 40” x 69”, 2022. Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Protection 5, Photograph printed on canvas and embellished with red beads and medallions, 40” x 69”, 2022. (Detail). Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Blue Jacket, Sculptural jacket embellished with rosaries, dimension variable, 2019. Courtesy of the Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Blue Jacket, Sculptural jacket embellished with rosaries, dimension variable, 2019. (Detail). Courtesy of the Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Protection 4, Photograph printed on canvas and embellished with green/red beads and medallions, 40”x69”, 2022. Courtesy of the Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Silver Dress, Sculptural dress embellished with medallion, dimension variable, 2019. (Detail). Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.
Cedric Mizero, Protection, short film, 9 minutes 5 seconds, 2020. (Detail). Courtesy of Crenshaw Dairy Mart Gallery.