There are moments in an artist’s life that ask you to pause and really take stock of where you are. This exhibition is one of those moments for me.
I’ve been invited to present a solo show—something this gallery has never done before. They’ve traditionally focused on group exhibitions, so to be the first artist to have a solo presentation in this space already makes this experience feel significant. But what makes it even more meaningful is the curator behind it. She is someone whose work I’ve admired for a long time. Long before this moment, I had hoped that one day our paths would cross in a meaningful way. This exhibition is that moment.
The show is structured as a kind of mini retrospective, bringing together works that span nearly a decade of my practice. It includes still life pieces, portraiture, and, for the first time, my fiber sculptures shown in this kind of setting. Seeing all of these works together has been both grounding and revealing. Each piece carries a version of me—how I was thinking, what I was exploring, and what I understood at the time.
Clara Nartey: Vessel Announcement
Join us at Orchid Gallery on Thursday, April 23rd from 6-8pm for the opening of Clara Nartey: Vessel, marking the launch of our third exhibition season. There will be an artist talk at 6:30pm, and refreshments will be served.
This solo show, curated by nico w. okoro from the Bldg Fund, features a diverse collection of artworks by Ghanaian-born textile artist Clara Nartey made over the past decade.
Spanning sculpture, portraiture, and still lifes, Nartey’s works weave thread, fabric, copper, and other materials into objects that both carry and hold human stories and relationships—vessels that protect the interior while navigating the exterior.
On view are five sculptures from her new series Skin Over Air, which explores skin as both a protective barrier and the porous membrane through which all manner of bodies interact. These “airy sculptures” take amorphous shapes, speaking to the diversity of the contents they might carry.
Her textile portraits stitch together American quilting traditions and the features and symbols of Ghanaian storytelling. On view are three portraits from her A Good Mother series which considers the social forces at play in characterizing motherhood, and the invisible labor that accompanies pregnancy where mothers serve as vessels for human life.
Invitation
I would love for you to experience this exhibition in person. To spend time with the work, to notice the shifts, and to engage with the story that unfolds across the space.
Join me at the opening reception.
I look forward to sharing this moment with you.
Warmly,
Details
Clara Nartey: Vessel
Opening Reception
Orchid Gallery
496 Newhall Street
Hamden, CT 06517
April 23, 2026
6-8 pm
I am very interested in seeing your work again. Until when is the Vessels exhibit open. I’m out of the country until 4/29.
Thank you
Dear Barbara, Vessels is opened until June 25. I hope you’ll get the chance to go see it. If you would like for me to meet you there and walk you through the exhibit, please send me an email.