Steven Anthony Johnson II
”Come and Dine”
February 3 – March 5, 2023
Closing Reception: March 3, 2023 Time TBD
"Come and Dine" is a solo exhibition by Steven Anthony Johnson II, it is the third multiformat drawing and installation-based micro-documentary in conversation within a larger ongoing body of work: "Dear Beautiful Black Baby." This installation/installment centers on a four decade-long familial religious stewardship practice from The artist's childhood. Their Maternal Grandmother, Annie Mae Allen, was responsible for catering the meal that concluded my ancestral church's New Year's fast. From 1978-2014, Mt. Nebo Holy Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland maintained the tradition of a 14-day congregational fast that began the first Sunday of each New Year. Ms. Allen, who was affectionately called 'Mother Allen,' catered to the same fast-breaking meal for 36 years: chicken soup, "scratch" biscuits, and fruit juices. The title of the exhibition refers to the hymnal sung every year to call the congregation to prayer once seated in the church kitchen: Come and Dine. With the artist's entire extended family dressed only in white, they cooked, prepared the dining space, and served roughly 100 congregants–only partaking of the food themselves once every congregant had received their bowls. This exhibition will include drawing derived from memories, restoration of familial heirlooms (such as inherited cookware, table cloths, recipes, etc), period staging (through decor and wallpaper) and scheduled food-based story circles and happenings that will recreate the feasting itself.
“Come and Dine” the Master calleth, “Come and Dine”
You may feast at Jesus’ table all the time (all the time)
He who served the multitude,
Turned the water into wine,
To the hungry [the Lord is calling]:
“Come and Dine”
Steven Anthony Johnson II is an artist, draftsperson, interpretive archivist, and storyteller living in Brooklyn, New York. They received their BFA in 2015 from the Maryland Institute College of Art, and MFA in 2017 from the New York Academy of Art. Utilizing the language of drawing, animation, and photo-documentary their work attempts to make peace between the religious, intellectual, and humanistic ideals in relation to Blackness and “Otherness.” In so doing, they offer a counter-narrative necessary to deemphasize whiteness and “light” as the focal point of our shared inter-cultural narrative. Their drawings and installations utilize traditional techniques, memory, and photography to examine the intersections of Afro-ambiguity, Black mundanity, and the right to self-representation. Johnson has exhibited work at the International Studio and Curatorial Program, New York; The Amory; New York, Inbreak, Los Angeles; and Notre Dame of Maryland University, Baltimore, among others.