The Union for Contemporary Art

APRIL BEY invites viewers to explore the enchanting lore of Atlantica—a vibrant, imagined utopia where Black queer joy and resilience reign supreme. The exhibition centers on the Magical Blue Holes found around the planet Earth, mystical portals connecting Earth's oceans to Atlantica, where whales and marine life traverse between realms. These blue holes also house space stations, iconic for their bustling beauty supply stores. Bey's work features archival ads from these Atlantican beauty stores, weaving narratives of self-love and autonomy. Through this exhibit, Bey poses the powerful question: Will you watch me win if I ask nothing of you? If I revel in my own joy and beauty?

April Bey

APRIL BEY (b. 1987) grew up in the Bahamas (New Providence) and now resides and works in Los Angeles as a visual artist and art educator. She is currently a tenured professor at Glendale College.

Bey’s interdisciplinary artwork is an introspective and social critique of American and Bahamian culture, feminism, generational theory, social media, post-colonialism Speculative futurism/surrealism and Blerd culture.

Bey’s two-dimensional mixed media works and installations are from her ongoing Atlantica series. Bey incorporates fur, glitter, vinyl and woven textiles—materials rich in queerness—to craft icons around the images of real-life figures from her community.

Her work has been the subject of solo exhibitions at The Nevada Museum of Art, Reno NV; The Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; The California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA, among others. It has been included in group exhibitions at The Modern Fort Worth, Fort Worth, TX; The Southwestern Center for Contemporary Art, NC; Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, Portland State University, Portland, OR; The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ; Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art, Virginia Beach, VA; The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas; New Orleans African American Museum, New Orleans, LA, among others. Her work is in the public collections of California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA; Center for Contemporary Printmaking, Norwalk, CT; Escalette Collection, Chapman University, Orange, CA; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA; National Art Gallery of the Bahamas, Nassau, The Bahamas; Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA; Fullerton College Art Gallery, Fullerton, CA, among others. She is represented by Tern Gallery in Nassau, Bahamas and Vielmetter Los Angeles.