About

Photo: Dontrius Williams

ARTIST STATEMENT

I create mixed media compositions encompassing abstraction, figuration, fiber techniques, collage, installation, assemblage, and painting. Through lived experience, I explore a redefined notion of solitude as a human condition, intersecting the theme with the concepts of time, home and family, memory, imagination, childhood, and the self. Deeply embedded in loss and a sense of place, I think about the subtle traits we express, objects we carry, everyday actions, and conversations in our lives–how the little things associate us with our departed loved ones as another form of their presence and link to our deepest selves. Highlighting personal histories and self-exploration, I utilize my upbringing as a frequent reference in my work to display the depth and versatility in my approach to understanding the complexities of myself and the world around me. Inspired by my familial and inner relationships, my autobiographical works elevate chapters in my life such as death, grief, belonging, family, self-doubt, and faith into whimsical productions of way-finding, self-celebration, reassurance, appreciation, and beauty.

BIOGRAPHY

Deyjah Stewart (b. Brooklyn, NY) Born in Brooklyn, New York, and raised in Spring Hill, Florida, Deyjah Stewart is a mixed-media artist utilizing various techniques involving drawing, painting, fibers, collage, and assemblage installation. She creates narrative work infused with figuration and abstraction, often referencing objects such as flowers, home furniture, blankets, and portraits as metaphors for recurring concepts of past and present, home and family, memory, imagination, childhood, and the self. Deyjah’s process is autobiographical and introspective, utilizing her personal experiences and interests. Deyjah received her BFA in Studio Art at Texas Woman’s University in Spring 2022. Her studio practice has evolved during a two-year hiatus from exhibiting, a period in which she quietly devoted her time to redefining her practice that centers on world building, personal mythology, nature, and her caregiving role to her young nephew. Through her work, Deyjah continues to explore memory and identity through the passage of time.

In September 2023, Stewart presented a survey exhibition titled, Solitude: Harmonious Evolution at Arts Fort Worth. In recent years, Stewart has been included in group exhibitions at Arts Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX (2021-2023); Galesburg Community Arts Center, Galesburg, IL (2023); Patterson Appleton Arts Center in Denton, TX (2021 and 2022); Allegany Arts Council, Cumberland, MD (2022); Rising Star Exhibition, Turner House in North Oak Cliff, Dallas, TX nominated by the Kirk Hopper Gallery and Giovanni Valderas (2022); New Texas Talent XXIX, Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas TX (2022); and 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX (2021). In the spring of 2023, Stewart was the local artist selected by Kinfolk House Collaborative Project Space, founded by Sedrick and Letitia Huckaby, to exhibit and collaborate alongside Miami-based artist Kandy G Lopez and Houston-based fashion designer Isabel Wilson for the show Woven Together. Most recently, Stewart was selected as an awardee of the Clare Hart DeGolyer Memorial Fund (2023) by the Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX. She is currently based in Raleigh, North Carolina.