Join us: our two-person exhibit at Kirkland Arts Center

Please join us for our two-person exhibit addressing the current zeitgeist, Into the Whirlwind, at the Kirkland Arts Center. The exhibit features Tom's sculptures and drawings with pointed and sometimes humorous socio-political commentary and Malayka's paintings of immigrants, past and present. We hope you can make the opening reception or the artist talk.

Opening reception: Friday, May 16, 6 – 8 pm
Artist talk: Saturday, June 14, 1 – 2 pm

You can see larger images of these sculptures and paintings at:
Tom: /Gallery Sculptures
Malayka: MalaykaGormally.com.

Descending Storm, multimedia, 102" x 40" x 40" Photo by Mark Woods

Tom: Descending Storm is my most recent sculpture. I trimmed our fig tree and used the branches to make tornado forms, representing the destructive power of storms in this era. 

The fig tree symbolizes fertility, prosperity, health, knowledge, community, and abundance. Using the fig branches to build a destructive storm is like making a dove into a symbol of violence. 

The storm is breaking the bonds between friends and family. When I see these divisions, I'm reminded of the importance of sharing and caring for each other.

Five Women on a Bench at Ellis Island, 1900, Gouache, watercolor, and India ink, 37" x 50"        Photo by Malayka

Malayka: I based my painting Five Women on a Bench at Ellis Island, 1900, on a photograph of immigrants at Ellis Island circa 1900, possibly by Lewis Wickes Hines.

I was honored to have this painting included in the 2022 group exhibition Migration at the Civic Museum of Palazzo della Penna, Perugia, Italy. The exhibition was a Seattle–Perugia sister city project.

Here Lies Lies,  multimedia, 78" x 22" x 20”       Photo by Mark Woods

Tom: Another very recent sculpture of mine, Here Lies Lies, addresses disinformation within political discourse and the news media ecosystem. 

Mother and Children at Ellis Island, Early 1900s, Gouache, watercolor, and India ink, 30" x 22"        Photo by Malayka

Malayka: I based my painting Mother and Children at Ellis Island, Early 1990s, on the 1905 photograph, Italian Family Seeking Lost Baggage, Ellis Island, by Lewis Wickes Hines. Lewis took 200+ photographs of immigrants coming through Ellis Island in New York Harbor between 1904 and 1909, the same period that my maternal grandparents came through Ellis Island, fleeing pogroms in Eastern Europe.

Lewis Wickes Hine's purpose "was to show newcomers to the United States as dignified individuals rather than anonymous masses of foreigners, as the press frequently portrayed them."

I was honored to have this painting included in Made in America—An Immigrant Story, a 2024 exhibition at the U.S. Embassy in Zagreb, Croatia. The U.S. Department of State Art in Embassies program produced the exhibit, and U.S. Ambassador Nathalie Rayes selected the works. Also available: exhibit Catalog.

Saint Oil Baron, multimedia, 72 ”x 26 ”X 15"     Photo by Mark Woods

Tom: My sculpture Saint Oil Baron was informed by my 2023 Civita Institute fellowship and residency in Italy and the religious elements in the churches in Rome, Civita di Bagnoregio, and Bagnoregio. Saint Oil Baron parodies altarpieces celebrating the lives of saints, subverting this form to ‘celebrate’ the lives of the oil barons reaping profits during accelerating climate change.

Saint Oil Baron was part of my 2023 solo exhibit Climate of Change, part of the Shunpike Storefronts Program, which is a temporary public art program in partnership with Amazon in Seattle, WA. Please see photos of the exhibit here. Saint Oil Baron was also included in the 2024 exhibition A Dreadful Beauty: History & Art from Gothic Pride Seattle at the Center on Contemporary Art, Seattle, WA.

Woman in NYC Shirt Applying for United States Citizenship, With Help From a Volunteer Gouache, watercolor, and India ink, 19" x 25"        Photo by Malayka

Malayka: The start of my project painting portraits of immigrants was a 2017 grant from 4Culture. As part of that project, I worked with a local office of the nonprofit International Rescue Committee; I photographed a citizen workshop where volunteers helped immigrants start their application for U.S. citizenship.

We hope you can come to the opening reception, our artist talk, or drop by the gallery on your own time to see the exhibit.

As always, we appreciate your friendship and support.

Best,

Malayka and Tom

P.S.

Below, we've included a fun 15-second video that Malayka took of Tom's sculpture, Descending Storm, in his studio. The image links to YouTube.