Finding Home: Works by Chelsey Luster

Opening Reception: Friday, September 8, 2023 | 6-9pm | Free-To-Attend
Friday, September 8, 2023 – Sunday, October 15, 2023
Presented in Gallery Three

About the Exhibition

“Finding Home” is an immersive solo exhibition that tells the stories of my models’ physical and mental safe spaces through mixed-media paintings, text, and film. The stories of my models inform the creation of these imaginative safe havens while also creating a physical safe space for them to share their vulnerabilities.

I highlight my identity and perspective through the luminescence of black skin with neon undertones and showcase the vibrance of queerness with glitter overlaying the skin. Using oil and fluorescent acrylic paint, fabric, glitter, glue, and markers on large-scale paper, wooden panels, found objects, and canvas, I create my models’ haven. Creating space to visualize and develop physical and mental safe spaces is an essential component in healing for the Black and Queer community.

About the Artist

Chelsey Luster is a Philadelphia-based curator and visual artist from Baltimore, Maryland. Luster’s visual artwork explores the complexities of safe spaces in Queer and Black culture through mixed-media paintings, video, and installation. Luster is a Vox Populi member and has recently taken part in the Mural Arts 2022 Black Artists Fellowship and the 2021 Center for Emerging Artists fellowship. She is currently the Exhibition Manager at Philadelphia’s Magic
Gardens.