ALMA - or, nourishing soul - is an homage to the power of art to heal, to nourish, and to connect us in conversation with our world.
I've long found inspiration in the stories we tell to make meaning about the world around us. In the midst of the pandemic, social unrest, and social isolation, I returned to literature, nature, and art to make sense of our current moment - and connect with deeper themes of our shared human experience.
The ALMA collection emerged in 2020 - 2021 in response to BIPOC women, writers, scholars, and activists - including Robin Wall Kimmerer, Audre Lorde, Gloria Anzaldúa, and bell hooks - whose words gave me nourishing affirmation.
Each piece is named for a line, phrase, or concept that these writers gifted to my creative practice.
"It's all about feeling the flow. This way of creating is rooted in the African-American cultural influences I grew up with and that I continue to be inspired by - from oral traditions of call and response, to jazz and hip-hop, dance, and abstract expressionism."
ALMA comes to life through organic abstraction and cerulean, sienna, and ivory black hues - elements that are simultaneously energizing, grounding, and globally connected.
My creative practice is driven by curiosity and improvisation. It's an embodied way for me to connect with story, emotion, and the deeper themes in our human experience. I'm moved by concepts and give myself freedom to explore color, form, and media to bring them to life. It's all about feeling the flow. This way of creating is rooted in the African-American cultural influences I grew up with and that I continue to be inspired by - from oral traditions of call and response, to jazz and hip-hop, dance, and abstract expressionism.
Adrienne Matthews (b.1979, Los Angeles) is an artist, writer, and designer based in Seattle, Wa. Her recent work is inspired by ancestral stories, intersectional identities, and the interior lives of people of color who navigate between spaces and whose self-determination demonstrates the potential for new ways of being.
Follow her journey on IG: @adrienneatlarge