Velvet Faith

“Curated by Associate Curator Emily Edwards, Velvet Faith showcases site-specific installation works created by artists EJ Hill and Martin Gonzales during a month-long residency at the museum alongside new and past sculptures and paintings.

The artists met in 2022 when their paths converged at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA), where Gonzales worked as a preparator and fabricator. Hill, meanwhile, had recently shifted focus within his practice to develop a series of paintings and works on paper titled joy studies—many of which were on view for the first time at MASS MoCA. Together, the men forged a bond over shared cultural values and experiences, an affinity for monumental sculpture, their material engagements with wood and metal, and an unwavering commitment to play-as-process. Their collaboration blossomed into a sanctuary of mutual understanding and support—a unique community within the art world—laying the groundwork for their joint artistic venture.

In Velvet Faith, Hill and Gonzales will continue their creative dialogue, pushing boundaries through large-scale works that reclaim and assert space often denied to marginalized communities. During their time at the museum, Hill will sew soft sculptures while also showcasing new paintings which depict subtle elements of landscapes while deepening his exploration of the color pink. Gonzales will produce large-scale sculptures and installations made from recycled metal, reimagining everyday materials to comment on inner transformation. Drawing inspiration from artists like Allan Kaprow, who explored uncertainty and experimentation in his post-war practices, Hill and Gonzales adopt a similar mode of an interdisciplinary creation process in emphasizing experience, play, and nontraditional spaces. Through these new works, the artists invite viewers into a shared space of exploration, where art becomes a tool for self-determination, survival, and liberation.

Velvet Faith is more than an exhibition; it is an invitation to come home—to a space of emotional resonance, creative freedom, and expansive possibility. Through their works, Hill and Gonzales embody a shared journey of self-determination, encouraging viewers to take part in the process of witnessing and participating in their creative dialogue.”

Open University

Across students from Southern Methodist University, Texas Christian University, Texas Woman’s University, University of North Texas, The University of Texas at Arlington, and The University of Texas at Dallas, the inaugural DC NTX Graduate Student Program cohort includes Courtney Broussard, Christina Childress, Lisa Clayton, Taylor Cleveland, Pablo Cruz, Veronica Ibargüengoitia Tena, Austin Lewis, Katherine Pinkham, Abigail Rainey, Elijah Ruhala, Narong Tintamusik, Sharmeen Uqaili, and Vajihe Zamaniderkani.

Inaugural Curator | Matthew Higgs, Director and Chief Curator of White Columns, New York

Matthew Higgs is an artist, curator and writer based in New York. He is currently the Director and Chief Curator of White Columns, New York’s oldest alternative art space. Since 1993 Higgs has curated more than 250 exhibitions and projects in North America, Europe and Asia; his writings have appeared in over 75 publications and magazines. Previously Higgs was the Curator at the CCA Wattis Institute of Contemporary Arts, San Francisco, and a Director of Exhibitions and London’s Institute of Contemporary Art. He has taught extensively over the past thirty years including roles at London’s Royal College of Art and Goldsmiths College. In 2006 he was a juror on The Turner Prize at Tate Britain, London. Higgs is the founding curatorial advisor to the Independent Art Fair and a Contributing Editor at The Paris Review.

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