Malaika Ross is a graduate of Hampshire College. She completed her B.A. in soil microbiology and her Div III thesis was titled “The Impact of Solar Arrays on Soil Microbial Activity”. She studied Painting and Drawing at the Rhode Island School of Design, San Francisco Art Institute and the Marchutz School of Fine Arts. She completed intensive coursework in sustainable faming, ecological restoration and Hawaiian ethnobotany at the University of Hawai’i, Hilo.
She grew up on the very small island of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands and spent the vast majority of her childhood playing outdoors with soil, walking among tall grasses, feeding goats and learning about the healing qualities of plants from all the women in her family.
Her grandmother was a small-scale farmer with an extensive kitchen garden packed full with every plant her grandmother would need as an ingredient in her cooking or herbal tinctures. Malaika learned from her that honoring the land was an essential part of life.
Art, soil and forest are what connect Malaika to her life force/purpose every single day. She is on a creative journey where she is taking her love of soil, forest and ecosystems and integrating it into her art, which is woven into her identity as a black woman on this planet.
From the Artist:
I’m a Caribbean American artist living in Western Massachusetts. I integrate the shapes and patterns developed in my microbial drawings of soil microbes into contemporary botanical paintings of native and introduced flora. The act of observing and documenting nature through painting and drawing as a black woman, is a form of liberation, environmental stewardship and anti-oppression work.
Some of my work places a black figure prominently in a natural setting, even as an element of nature, to remind the viewer that nature belongs to everyone and our BIPOC ancestors and communities continue to be connected to and defend the land in a way that protects natural resources for everyone.
October 6th – November 3rd
Opening reception Thursday, October 6th from 5 to 8 PM
PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery.
Come celebrate the 11th Annual Small Works Show at the Opening Reception & Pie Party Thursday, December 1st from 5-8 pm.
Featuring works by local artists — all 6×6″, 5×7″ and 8×10″ and all in fabulous frames! From paintings to photographs, illustrations to assemblages, and more, the show features works in various mediums—all cash-and-carry for easy holiday shopping.
There will be pie, sangria, and hot chocolate! All are welcome and please invite your friends and family.
The exhibition opens November 5th, and can be viewed Monday – Friday 10-6 pm, Thursday 10-8 pm, and Saturday 10-4 pm until November 23rd
Opening Reception: Thursday, November 10th from 5 to 7 PM
About John Krifka
John Krifka has been painting for over 40 years. He had lived and painted in NYC for 25 years, before moving permanently to the Pioneer Valley in the early 2000s. His work is either graphically colorful or intimately serene, large or small, depending upon neighboring observation or studio confines. Most subjects have centered around still life, cityscapes, or landscapes.
PLEASE NOTE: walk-ins are welcome for the gallery.
