March 18 – April 17, 2010

An Enlarged Heart, archival digital print, 26.5 x 30", 2010

MIYAKO YOSHINAGA art prospects is pleased to present our third solo exhibition of artist Erika deVries. An Enlarged Heart takes language and light as central forms and metaphor with new works in neon, lenticular, photo etching, and embroidery. The exhibition is accompanied by a series of public events and performances.

deVries' work is narrative and responds to cyclical transformations from girlhood, womanhood, and motherhood. The present exhibition incorporates the rhythms of daily living while exploring the nature of presence and absence. An Enlarged Heart draws on textual works in the artist's six-year old son's hand, as he copies phrases dictated by his mother. Rendered in neon, these transcriptions crystallize the moments when language and meaning coalesce. "Infinite Capacity" and "For Goodness Sake" also appear in a series of collaborative drawings with her son embroidered on tea towels. deVries writes, "New words and their meanings, movements, skills, and experiences are part the parent's every day parade. I am staggered by each moment's fullness then disappearance. I re-learn the power of words as my children work towards literacy."

Continuing her use of lenticular photography and exploring new fabrications transforming her photographic imagery, deVries matches the triumph of language acquisition with the reconciliation of loss including that of a family friend who died from complications due to an enlarged heart. Other works document marigold-dying processes, household compost, and seasonal shifts. In a photo etching created at Ten Grand Press, Victorian writing exercises and a mobile device's chat simultaneously explore how writing is communication both shared and internal.

The author Rebecca Solnit writes of utopias that bloom in the aftermath of disaster, and how in extreme conditions our human capacity can enlarge to engage circles of community, love, and care. At a time when a loved one was experiencing fear and anxiety, the artist learned a Kundalini exercise that involves breathing in the sufferer's pain in order to breathe out, and back, love. The artist writes, "Our Infinite Capacity For Love are words that have bound me to the people of my life: the family, friends, and others, past and present that I admire. This exhibition is in their tribute."

Erika deVries is a photography, performance and video artist living and working in Brooklyn, NY. She has lectured and exhibited internationally including: Halifax University, Nova Scotia, Canada; Los Angeles Center For Photographic Studies; Point of View Gallery, Chicago, IL; and Gemachtschule Universitaet, Kassel, Germany. She recently had a solo exhibition titled, "Your Mother Is In The Basement", at LaSalle University Art Museum, Philadelphia, PA. Her work was included in the exhibition "mother/Mother" at AIR Gallery this past winter. deVries's work will be included in the upcoming publication The M Word, Real Mother's In Contemporary Art, edited by Myrel Chernick, 2010.

Performances of love songs to happen at 6:00pm and 6:30pm

Saturday March 27, 2010 12 noon: Artist's talk with Amy Sadao

Saturday April 3, 2010 10AM -Kundalini meditation workshop

Fridays at 12 noon - "Begin at the Beginning".

The artist invites you to join in the public performance of being a beginner. Knowing nothing about music, deVries hosts Beginning Accordion Lessons Fridays, March 18, March 25, April 2, April 9, April 16.