Duque and Davis-Barrios make photographs and paintings out of a sense of longing: a longing to connect with worlds beyond and people lost, a longing to blur the line between fiction and non-fiction, and a longing to rejoin an inherited, ancestral history.

The artists use gardens as a metaphor. Gardens present a of tension between wildness and control, and the implication of a gardener or curator. Within the garden metaphor, the artists create a place that is in-between realities—a place where they are able to explore alternative universes and a connection to those who have passed on. Duque’s work draws on her Filipino-American heritage. Davis-Barrios explores the nighttime and the multitude of possibilities it presents.

BIOS

Annelise Duque is a Filipino-American artist who explores cultural identity, heritage, and belonging in her photographs. Her work borrows from the aesthetics of mid-century home magazines and uses the symbol of the garden to seek for connection and healing. Her work has been shown by the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art, Tropical Contemporary, Rio Gallery, and Humble Arts Foundation. In 2019, she received a BFA at Brigham Young University. She is a 2021 Visual Arts Fellow with the Utah Division of Arts & Museums.

Gwen Davis-Barrios is curious about how it feels to be scared and how it feels to be at home. She obtained her BFA from Brigham Young University in 2020. Her recent exhibitions include the “46th Annual BDAC Statewide Competition” at the Bountiful Davis Art Center, “Online Exhibition #6” curated by Ornis Althuis and Jeanine Hofland, “A Quiet Whisper, Close to Your Ear” at Gallery 303 in Provo, “Incubation Period” at Granary Arts Utah, “Plant Matter” at Pal Gallery in Provo, and “And It Looks Back at You” at the B.F. Larson Gallery in Provo.

VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE EXHIBITION