On May 30, 2024 at the UCF Art Gallery exhibition opening, Juror Ginger Gregg Duggan announced Tenee’ Hart as the winner of Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize. Tenee’ is one of six finalists chosen to have works on view in both the UCF Art Gallery and Rollins Museum of Art. As the winner, Tenee’ will receive a $10,000 cash prize, a solo exhibition at the UCF Art Gallery in the fall of 2025, a consulting session with a financial advisor (to discuss the financial aspects of a sustainable art practice), and a juror position for the next Pathways competition.
About the Artist
Tenee’ Hart is an ‘unconventional’ fiber sculpture artist pursuing themes of feminism that delve into topics of beauty, anatomy, and the inequality of women. Wrapped fibers, gushing forms, and the manipulation of the ‘everyday’ are crucial components within Hart’s works. Her abstract forms remain committed to an intriguing physicality that comes from palpable and intentional material usage.
Hart hails from Virginia, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Mary Washington in 2011. Later, Hart earned her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Florida State University, where she has been teaching, at the college level, since the completion of her degree in 2015. Hart is currently the Co-Head of ODL for FSU | Department of Art. Beyond her role as an educator, Hart is the sole Graduate Advisor and Coordinator for the Department of Art at Florida State University.
Works on View at Rollins Museum of Art through September 1
TENEE’ HART
POWDERED AND PALE, 2017-2023
Powder, faux pearls, loofa, melted bowls, powder puff, plastic tablecloths, cut-glass lamps, aerolux bulbs, lampshades, metal, mirror, paint and various fibers 72” 48” 30”
TENEE’ HART
UGUISU, 2018-2023
Makeup wipes, decorative birds, birdcages, birdcage veil, chopsticks, paint, lampshades, picture frame stand, wallpaper, paint, artificial light, metal, various fibers and audio element of the Nightingale’s song combined with rubbing lotion, 72 X 25 X 25 in.
Works on View at UCF Art Gallery through August 30
Womb Veils
“No Woman can call herself free who does not own and control her body.” These inspiring words from Margaret Sanger and her struggles to bring diaphragms to women in need of them, inspired Womb Veils.
The term “womb veil” was the name given to the earliest form of barrier contraception. Sanger’s commitment to birth control sprung from personal tragedy. She watched her mother die due to the strain of eleven childbirths and seven miscarriages.
TENEE’ HART (American, b. 1988) WOMB VEILS, 2014-2021 Shower caps, liquid plastic, wedding veil, crib, toile wallpaper, chandeliers, parlor chair, paint, artificial light, crocheted and hand dyed fibers, 96 X 58 X 30in. Courtesy of the Artist
TENEE’ HART (American, b. 1988)
CESTODA II, 2013-2021
Faux pearls, vintage silkscreened wallpaper, milk glass hurricane lamp, extension cords, artificial light, metal and various fibers 96 X 18 X 24 IN. Courtesy of the Artist.
Photo by Jessica Abels
Artist Statement
“Sitting at my grandmother’s feet, the thunderous roar of her sewing machine would cease with a sudden clank of the lever falling into place, the sound of an unraveling spool led to the severing of this single tie. Excess would be snipped away, and with each pass of the metal edges, the pile would grow larger. I was lured to these remnants sinking into the carpeted floor, their frayed edges and abstract bodies. Sifting through the rubble consumed me, knotting ragged ends together to create a bouquet of mishmash worthy of praise.
Similar to most craft based processes such as knitting, weaving, and sewing – my practice is process-based. I am aware that I am influenced by the artistic traditions such as craft, labor, and the act of making. I embrace these practices that are considered ‘the domestic’ or women’s work as a form of empowerment and resistance to this perception. There is evident interest in domestic materials, material culture, and what these tactile objects are capable of symbolizing. When considering their inherent properties and limitations, I tend to negate the objects’ intended use, or function for that matter, in favor of its aesthetic capacities. Through delicate and sometimes aggressive material manipulation, viewers are challenged to question the traditional connotation of such ‘everyday’ materials.
Throughout my practice, I pursue themes of feminism that delve into topics of beauty, anatomy, and the inequality of women. I embed personal narratives through material context and nostalgic visual languages. My wrapped, knotted, sewn, and house-paint-slathered sculptures are mutations of anatomical forms turned abject. Subverting the spectacle of decoration I push the seductively beautiful towards the overwhelming artificial. Combining, re-contextualizing, and reconfiguring disparate materials is my way of reconciling my role as a woman and challenging the societal expectations that have been ingrained in us all.” -Tenee Hart
Free Virtual Artists Talks with Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize Finalists
Tuesday, June 11 at 6pm: Artists: Patricia L. Cooke, Tenee’ Hart, and Diego Alejandro Waisman
Tuesday, July 16 at 6pm Artists: Samuel Aye-Gboyin, Fernando Ramos, and Clio Yang
View the Pathways 2024 Exhibition Catalog
About Pathways 2024: The Carlos Malamud Prize
This collaborative partnership between the Rollins Museum of Art and the UCF Art Gallery at the University of Central Florida celebrates and supports emerging professional artists working in Florida. Finalists’ works are exhibited in both locations and the winnier receive a $10,000 cash prize, a solo exhibition, a consulting session with a financial advisor, professional development, and participates as a juror for the following edition of the exhibition.
