Travis Somerville: Burden of Consequences
Wasmer Art Gallery
January 29 - February 25, 2021
Social injustice and the economic and political structures that perpetuate oppression, racism in America, the refugee crisis and the current global political environment, are all issues that have been subjects in Travis Somerville’s work. He often uses stereotypical and confrontational racial imagery for its nostalgic familiarity, asking the viewer to confront their internal feelings about racism and class struggle. Somerville grew up in the Southern United States in the tumultuous 1960's and 70's surrounded by the Southern gentility that harbored underlying racism and hostility. These social dualities, contradictions and hypocrisies are exposed in his work paintings, drawings, sculptures and installations.
Sponsored by Gene and Lee Seidler and the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and WGCU Public Media
Image credit: Travis Somerville, (from left to right) The Fall (TKO), 2020, Acrylic and collage on found painters tarp, 91 x 67”; The Family X-ray, 2019, Acrylic and collage on found painters tarp, 82 x 52"
