5 Points Art Gallery + Studios kicks off its fall season with two solo exhibitions opening Friday, September 1, 2023, 6-9 p.m. (CST). Both, Black female centric, The Black Woman Tabernacle: she IS god features Atlanta- based artist, Kottavei Love’s futuristic textile tarot deck series while Dark Edges is former Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design graduate, Joya Jean’s documentation of her current post-graduate life transitions utilizing her signature hair braided and beaded sculptures as her journaling vehicle.

An homage to different elements of “god” found within Black women of the diaspora, Kottavei Love’s The Black Woman Tabernacle: she IS god is a creative and interactive showcase of 78 small textile works encased in the format of a tarot deck. Each set of original mini textile drawings within the deck serve as its own altar with cups, wands, pentacles, swords and major arcana. Play-encouraged, the audience will have the opportunity to make offerings while randomly selecting cards to see what fate holds for them based on the powers possessed by the Black female characters. “Black women have long been the altar and sacrifice for all those surrounding them. This collection of work reflects the ways we show up and become the source of hope for all in our orbit,” explains Love.

In her career premier solo show, Joya Jean returns to Milwaukee from Chicago with an expanded portfolio of hand-braided and beaded “Crown” and “Throne” sculptures. A documentation of the moment, Jean’s work sheds light on the emotional experiences of existing within her body and home space. Through 14 newly and meticulously created hair weaved masterpieces and 2-D wall reliefs, Joya’s work exemplifies the teetering raw innocence colliding with the scrutiny and adversity within the human reality and the complexities of being a Black woman in contemporary time. An additional twist to traditionally revering the supportive Black women in her world, male forms are making a first-time appearance in Jean’s work as a way to honor and celebrate the Black masculine entities that have embraced this time and grounded her through her life’s journey.

The artistic mastery in The Black Woman Tabernacle: she IS god (Love) and Dark Edges (Jean) remain on display and available for collection until Sunday, October 29, 2023.