Light in Love: Contours of Self The Work of Stephanie Brown, Curated by Jessica Bethel
Opening reception: Thursday, January 15th, 2026 | 7 PM - 9 PM Featuring an artist panel moderated by Taylor Bythewood-Porter
Light in Love is a vulnerable experience. This edition of work, Contours of Self, showcases Black women in their rawest form – embracing what they may or may not love about their bodies. Society has conditioned us to love a specific aesthetic about our bodies, especially for Black women. The intent behind the work is self-discovery and self-love through dynamic portrayals of the body’s contours, highlights, and shadows. A narrative of love as light hugging the body, not so polished. Viewers are invited to experience the emphasis on the shadows, contours, and light on the scale of the nearly 4-foot-tall photographs on the walls. With the intimacy of the space and Brown’s poetic words to accompany 15 photographs, each image will emphasize the relationship between light and dark; ultimately expressed as, Light in Love.
Stephanie Brown
Stephanie Brown is an Atlanta-based photographer and interactive installation artist. Stephanie earned a BFA in Photography from Savannah College of Art and Design, as well as an MFA degree in Interdisciplinary Art and Museum Studies Certificate from the University of Michigan. A daughter of Jamaican immigrants, Stephanie Brown grew up in South Florida at the intersection of her own Jamaican and Black American identities, which is reflected in her work offering ancestral and global insights on identity construction. Brown’s work has been exhibited internationally and nationally. Most notably her work has been presented at the Appleton Museum of Art, Prizm Art Fair, Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art, Swan Coach House Gallery, Mint Gallery, Black Art in America, the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta, the Science Gallery Atlanta, and Sovern LA.
Stephanie identifies as an interdisciplinary artist interweaving mediums to narrate a greater contextual story rooted in historical research and familial narratives that aim to empower people of color to discover themselves and take control of who they choose to be and become. Her artistic practice and identity are fed by her experiences and mold the relationship she explores between the States, the Caribbean, and Africa. Stephanie intends for her work to guide disconnected identities floating on the ghost-trails of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to a greater sense of honor, belonging, and home. No matter where melanin-rich people may find themselves, their presence, culture, and historical influence are there to be discovered. Where these influences are found, new connections to their identity are collected, which help reframe and construct who they are, who they know themselves to be, and who they choose to become.
Jessica Bethel
Jessica Bethel is a Los Angeles-based photographer, art director, and curator who embarked on her photography journey during high school, quickly developing a deep affinity for the analog medium. Her passion for capturing moments through film has remained steadfast ever since. Jessica earned her BA in Art and Art History with a specialization in photography from Florida International University.
Originally from Delray Beach, FL, Jessica draws profound inspiration from her Jamaican and African-American heritage, which significantly informs her photographic style. Specializing in portraiture and fine art photography, Jessica's primary objective is to authentically portray the raw essence of each individual or subject that graces her lens.
Jessica is a member of Black Women Photographers, The Luupe, and Women Photograph. She also has a deep affinity for reading and has created an online book community called Literature Noir. Literature Noir is a safe space for readers to discover BIPOC authors and stories. Jessica’s passion for creating community through art and literature is what fuels her love for creating.
Taylor Bythewood-Porter
Taylor Bythewood-Porter is a curator and writer
whose practice engages history, material culture, and Black feminist thought to examine the rituals, aesthetics, and afterlives of the African Diaspora. Her work bridges archival
research and curatorial praxis to surface overlooked narratives and cultural memory. She is the Director of Exhibitions at the Armory Center for the Arts. Previously, as Curator of History at the Museum of Riverside, she organized First Comes Love: Courtship in the Victorian Era (2025). From 2017–2023, she
served as Assistant Curator at the California African American Museum (CAAM), where she was honored with the American Association for State and Local History’s Award of Excellence
for Rights and Rituals: The Making of African American Debutante Culture (2021).
At CAAM, Bythewood-Porter co-curated a range of exhibitions, including Tatyana Fazlalizadeh: Speaking to Falling Seeds (2023), Cross Colours: Black Fashion in the 20th Century (2020), The Liberator: Chronicling Black Los Angeles, 1900–1914 (2019), Making Mammy: A Caricature of Black Womanhood, 1840–1940 (2019), Los Angeles Freedom Rally, 1963 (2018), and California Bound: Slavery on the New Frontier, 1848–1865 (2018). She also contributed to How Sweet the Sound: The History of Gospel Music in Los Angeles (2018), Circles and Circuits I: History and Art of the Chinese Caribbean Diaspora (2017), and Lezley Saar: Salon des Refusés
(2017).
Her writing has appeared in Contemporary Art Review Los Angeles, Frieze Week, Derek Fordjour: Magic, Mystery & Legerdemain, and Yesterday We Said Tomorrow for Prospect.5.
A note on accessibility: Sovern LA is committed to creating a space that is welcoming and accessible to all. At this time, our building does not have ramps, which limits physical access for some community members. We recognize this as an area that needs improvement and are actively working toward making the space more accessible. We do our best to accommodate people of varying abilities and encourage anyone with specific access needs to reach out before attending so we can support you as best we can.
Sovern LA is an intersectional community center and gallery, located in LA’s West Adams district, focused on supporting Black and Indigenous women and gender expansive people of color. Fueled by a passion for justice, equality, and creative expression, Sovern is driven by the collective determination to center healing justice, challenge systemic barriers, empower artists of color, and amplify their impact for collective wellbeing. By building a community that uplifts and celebrates diverse voices, we aim to reshape the art world in Los Angeles and beyond, creating a more inclusive and equitable space where artists and communities can thrive together.