sacred
A group exhibition curated by Naomi Stewart
On view:
February 26th - May 7th, 2026
Opening reception:
Thursday, February 26th, 2026 | 7 PM - 9 PM
Sovern LA is pleased to present sacred, a new group exhibition curated by Naomi Stewart with support from curatorial assistant Bamelak Wendwossen Tesfaye, opening with a public reception on February 26th, 2026. This exhibition calls for the embodiment of the sacred within the Black soul whilst navigating white-body supremacy and generational trauma—building self-fortitude.
sacredincludes artists Patrick Chuka, Tiffany Conway, Dellis Frank, Natou Fall, and Lisa Diane Wedgeworth. Through their art practices, which alchemize grief, embrace rest, and celebrate creativity, the artists weave threads of resilience that honor both personal and collective healing.
Curator’s note: Souls inhabiting Black bodies bear generational burdens of labor, trauma, and erasure. The term sacred can be referred to as something set apart, to be regarded with reverence and great respect. What would it mean for the Black sojourner to view themselves as set apart—sacred? How does this aid in our protest? Reclaiming reverence for our body, mind, history, and soul's mission steadies our foundation—our protest. This thread of resilience honors embodied and collective wisdom rather than scarcity and fear.
Stewart's curatorial approach was led by intuition, dreamspace, and anthropological methodologies. Through studio visits and cross-disciplinary engagement with Black liberation texts, marronage texts, psychology, archival practice, and indigenous wisdom traditions, Stewart assembled artists whose practices embody the sacred through these layered perspectives.
Together, these artworks transform the gallery into a portal—a sanctuary where collective wisdom guides contemporary expression, allowing visitors to engage with the sacred within. There will be supplemental programming throughout the exhibition run to provide opportunities for deeper exploration of the exhibition themes.
Presented in collaboration with Black in Place LLC
Catalog
Patrick Chuka
Patrick Chuka's hyper-realistic pen and charcoal drawings serve as mirrors, inviting viewers to look inward. Capturing vulnerability and the masks we wear, Chuka's drawings of friends and community members honor the beauty in the breaking—the process of becoming. His work serves as an archive and storytelling, keeping records for communities at risk of erasure while asking us to look beneath the surface to see the whole being in each of us.
Afrophilia-X: "The Freedom" Drawing
Drawing, pencil on paper
40 X 36 inches
2025
Original- $6,000, True to Size Print: $800
Started in 2023 and completed in 2025. "The Freedom" created as part of the Afrophilia-X series is a pencil drawing that captures the moment when endurance becomes understanding. The artist is shown holding his own heart outside their body—exposed, pulsing, and flowering—no longer as a site of injury, but as a place of becoming yet being offered as a gift for all who can hold gently..
From arteries emerge blossoms, delicate yet insistent, reminding you that healing does not deny suffering; it reshapes it. The composition merges anatomy and botany into a quiet meditation on survival, ancestry, and spiritual initiation.
Rendered with simple pencils on paper, every line is deliberate. The precision of colors mirrors the patience required to endure exile, hunger, isolation, and the long work of self-reclamation. Veins become branches. Shadows carry memory. The hovering heart becomes both offering and an altar.
No one is asking to be saved.
The open hand beneath it signals acceptance.
This artwork reflects the truth at the core of Afrophilia-X: that pain can become an instruction manual, that identity is reforged through migration, and that love—claimed without permission—becomes radical.
Together we lift what once threatened to break us.
Not because it is flawless--
but because it is love.
Still beating.
Still becoming.
Patience "Ndidi"
Drawing, Ballpoint Pen on Paper
40 x 60 inches
2023
Original- $11,500, True to Size Print (Limited Edition): $1000
Started in 2022 and completed in 2025, "Ndidi" is a poignant reminder to embrace patience as a virtue. It beckons us to recognize the cyclic nature of life, where every entity experiences its unique seasons. At times, winter's grasp may linger longer than we expect, yet it's in these moments that we prepare to blossom, for spring's inevitable arrival is just around the corner.
Crafted with finesse, this artwork comes to life through the delicate strokes of a ballpoint pen on paper. Each line tells a story, and the careful detailing reflects the artist's dedication to capturing the essence of this evocative message.
"Ndidi" transcends the realm of a mere drawing; it's a visual allegory for life's ebb and flow. Its message is one of resilience and hope, inviting us to hold onto patience during challenging times, knowing that renewal and growth will eventually grace our path.
The ballpoint pen's graceful dance on the canvas of paper mirrors the passage of time, symbolizing the patience and persistence that this artwork celebrates. Through "Ndidi," we're reminded of the beauty in waiting, the promise of a new beginning, and the strength that comes from the anticipation of the blooming that awaits us all.
Let me show you
Ballpoint Pen & Charcoal
24 x 32 inches
2023
Original- $5,500, True to Size Print: $800
Let me show you extends an invitation to the observer, a tantalizing opportunity for inner exploration—an embrace of the very essence that defines one's being. As we frequently seek external pursuits, what if we dared to venture within, discovering the treasure trove within ourselves?
Executed in 2022, this exquisite portrait came to life through the skilled hands of the artist, wielding a Blue ballpoint pen with precision on paper. The labor invested in this masterpiece transcends imagination, spanning over 500 painstaking hours to achieve fruition. The shading technique employed is an intricate dance of delicate strokes, gradually layered to attain the perfect tonal harmony, accompanied by meticulously placed circular shades, each stroke adding depth and texture. This work embodies the artistry's unwavering commitment to excellence, capturing not just a visual representation, but the very essence of a profound creative process.
Tiffany Conway
Tiffany Conway's colorful and sensual paintings celebrate the Black body and her own journey toward self-love and acceptance. As a self-sustaining artist and entrepreneur, Conway's work grapples with challenging white body supremacy through representations of Blackness that are brown-skinned, full-bodied, and full-lipped, capturing its most joyful, peaceful, and somber aspects. Her paintings reveal the extent of dreaming and prolific creativity required to navigate these unsettling times.
The NO Painting
Oil on canvas
40 x 30 inches
2024
$5,000 - Sold
Sometimes ideas hit me the moment I wake up, and when they do I have to move quickly to get them out of my head and onto the canvas. That was the case with The No Painting. At its core, this piece is about boundaries, because each painting in Joy Jubilee is a lesson in how to cultivate unshakable joy.
The idea came from a memory of living with a family member. She woke up before everyone else, sat with her coffee and her newspaper or bible, and took that quiet time for herself. Because I've always been an early riser, I would catch her in those moments. She may not have realized it then, but she was teaching me how to serve myself before serving the world, something all women must practice as natural caregivers.
In Joy Jubilee, the daisy symbolizes a congratulatory state, as in “Congrats! You’ve learned the lesson!” Each painting represents wisdom I’ve gained through lived experience or through the teachings of Black women who have left us guidance across generations.
In The No Painting, the daisy motif appears in several forms. The daisy wallpaper represents the “soft no.” The teacup symbolizes a direct no without explanation. The fruit displays a passive-aggressive no, echoing the silence that sometimes communicates more than words. And finally, the “Hell Nah!” poems and syllabiques in the book she’s reading reflect all the creative ways we say no.
Ultimately, this painting is about saying no to the world so you can say yes to yourself, an essential ingredient for unshakable joy.
Tail Feather-Dancing Disco
Oil on canvas
30 x 24 inches
2025
$2,950
While creating Joy Jubilee, which maps the journey toward unshakable joy, I began making work that embodied joy itself. Tail Feather is part of the Dancing Disco Series, a fun, lighthearted body of work that uses dance and sisterhood to express joyful embodiment.
In Tail Feather, the figure appears in three poses. One radiates confidence, one flirts with playful energy, and the third captures her mid–dance move. These paintings show what becomes possible when you commit to the pursuit of unshakable joy.
Yeah Glow
Oil on canvas
36 x 18 inches
2024
$2,700
While creating Joy Jubilee, Yeah Glow was one of the first paintings I completed. I returned to a style I often use to represent the spiritual realm, because in this piece I wanted to explore the idea of stoicism.
We all know the “strong Black woman” trope, and my generation has been intentional about rejecting it. We’ve dropped the mask in order to free ourselves, in part because we've watched so many elders carry pain that should never have been theirs alone. In a world where Black women face compounded oppression, the mask of strength has been armor, yet a newer form of resistance is allowing ourselves to break.
In Yeah Glow, the figure stands outside under the moonlight, stoic among the stars. The daisy motif appears in the scattered petals amongst her flowing skirt. Her brassiere is sheer, signaling vulnerability. And if you look closely, streams of stars fall from her eyes as she cries and releases what she has carried. Fireworks and smoke behind her suggest a spark of something new, maybe a new life.
The lesson of this piece is simple: drop the mask of strength. Acknowledging your pain is essential to healing it, and you cannot reach joy without working through what weighs on you.
Dellis Frank
Dellis Frank's multidisciplinary approach incorporates textile and play into vibrant sculptures that wrestle with themes of nostalgia and racism. Her works serve as totems and altars of reverence for the Black soul, aiding in the work of dreaming and embodying our sacredness in ways we cannot yet imagine.
Be Amended
Acrylic on canvas, repurposed items, fiber, paper collage, resin
40 x 30 x 2.5 inches
2019
$5,000
Be Amended is a call to wake up and be a whole person and a response to the three fifths compromise. We, the Black community, have for too long suffered from the Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome that has kept us from being whole. 5/5 whole. I will never again be thought of as three fifths of a human being, nor should any other person. Listening to a song by the artist Common titled It’s Your World sparked the notion for this piece. We ARE the people spoken of in those documents even though they weren’t meant for us. We ARE amended.
Tears of Black Folk
Plaster, papier mâché, acrylic, fiber, fabric, wire
57 x 21 x 15 inches
2019
$2,500
Black folk have been shedding unprovoked tears for over 400 years. Who wouldn’t shed tears after being ripped from the only land and home they knew? Who wouldn’t shed tears after being forced to change their identity, and work for no pay from sunup to sundown? Who wouldn’t shed tears being raped and then having your child ripped away from you? Who wouldn’t shed tears knowing you cannot protect your family because they were sold down the road? Who wouldn’t shed tears knowing laws were specifically created to “keep you in your place?” Who wouldn’t shed tears when the country you fought for doesn’t love you back? Who wouldn’t shed tears when your very skin closes doors to every path to success? I could go on and on but I think you understand why these tears are so large and never ending.
Fabulously Feminine
Plaster, papier mâché, acrylic, fiber, fabric, wire
57 x 21 x 15
2024
$1,200
This piece celebrates the multifaceted essence of womanhood, portraying her as a nurturing mother, a resilient go-getter, and a majestic queen. Through three distinct elements, the artwork reflects the strength, grace, and power that define the feminine spirit. Using repurposed materials, fibers, and symbolic textures, it honors the resilience of women—continuously transforming, adapting, and thriving.
Natou Fall
Natou Fall's MaadCode naturalistic assemblages, juxtaposed with her pastel portraits and film, reflect the duality of her practice. While excavating the challenged histories of enslavement and her Senegalese roots through new language-making with maad seeds, she turns to her vibrant pastels as respite. For Fall, striking a balance becomes essential—particularly as a queer Black woman—where taking space to simply be and play becomes an act of protest.
Ci Kanam
video
3:37 min digital film
2024
$3,230 (4 digital copies available for sale)
A video poem exploring themes of identity and spirituality. Face, front, future: the three meanings of the word kanam in Wolof. Said in this order takes on the form of a command. Look forward, face front, pay attention. Presence. Every individual is on a journey toward something, regardless of the path taken. To be here, now, mentally, physically, emotionally, is the challenge. The future calls for a release of what was.
Face,
Front,
Future,
The three meanings of the Wolof word kanam. Said in this order takes on the form of a command. Look forward, face front, pay attention.
Presence,
Every individual is on a journey toward something, regardless of the path taken. Stillness is fleeting. To be here, now, mentally, physically, emotionally, is the challenge, not only for us as individuals but as a society.
Fugitive,
The reduction and abstraction of the face and its features to an object void of ethic origin, earthy, manipulated to create variation in composition, and effective expression. Here, “the critic” rendered in gypsum, challenges one’s experience and ability mitigate the reflex to categorize and judge.
Whiteness,
A system of judgment, devised to identify differences in broad noses, thick lips, and epicanthic folds; a means to validate the discrimination and dehumanization of indigenous peoples across the globe, has an indelible hold on our society.
Judgement is
Evolutionary: safe to eat or not safe to eat, dangerous animal or gentle animal, friend or
foe. Throughout history, institutions and cultural machines have been designed to judge, categorize, and sort human beings. However, these systems operate on a form of judgment no longer rooted in survival, but in greed and bigotry.
Face forward. The future
Is imminent, yet we find ourselves unable to release “the way things were” in a time where humanity is screaming for change. The future depends on abolition and the establishment of systems rooted in
selflessness,
openness, and
acceptance, the ability to not fully understand and yet be capable of respect. Release “the way things were,” change is the only constant, be open to it. Nothing is permanent; change is the only constant.
Look forward,
think forward,
grow.
Triptych Mirror Piece Human Desire
1 of 3 “being”
2 of 3 “connection”
3 of 3 “peace”
Hand-etched mirror, joint compound, plaster, maad seeds, tamarind seeds, soot, mussel shells, clam shells, feather trim, beaded trim, faux leather trim, sea urchin spines, cowrie shells, enamel paint
12” x 16”
2025
$2,700 each, $7,500 for a set of 3
This triptych of hand-etched mirrors features the “maadphabet,” an original script inspired by the seed pods of Maad Fruit (Saba senegalensis) from Senegal. This script reimagines language beyond colonial alphabets, reconnecting fragments of cultural memory and ancestral knowledge through gesture and form.
Here, mirrors framed in a bed of mussel shells, cowrie shells, and fragments of faces, combine Wolof words and their translations in this script to create open-ended narratives. The words on each mirror contain a portion of a phrase that, when combined, reads what we all want and need as humans on this plane in three different languages.
Regardless of origin, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity, at our core, we all desire the same things: “peace,” “being,” and “connection.” With “being” and “connection,” the two mirrors open the triptych the way we each begin: born of the blending of two people, life, love, and relating to others are the first things we learn. “Peace” comes at a cost, and that price is conflict, both inter- and intrapersonal. This final mirror bears cracks that reflect this idea, emphasising that “peace” is the hardest of the three for humanity to grasp.
deux gouttes d’eaux
oil pastel on wood
23” x 31”
2025
$3,000
held tight, held close
oil pastel on wood
13” x 17”
2025
$1,300
geméntu
oil pastel on wood
11” x 17”
2025
$1,900
These three oil pastels mark the start of a series on sacred rest. Sleep and dreaming are shared experiences vital to life, those quiet, in-between moments when we are most open and unfiltered. These portraits emphasize the softness and vulnerability of rest. In this context, queer Black love is presented through its tenderness and complexity, conveyed using vibrant color palettes and textured surfaces. This medium explores how the relationship between application and color can either reinforce or challenge clarity.
Each work is titled in the three languages that are core to my practice and speaks to the composition of each pastel. “Deux gouttes d’eaux” translates to “two peas in a pod,” a reflection of my partner and me tucked between pillows and a blanket. “Held tight, held close” captures the moment when one person in a couple is awake but held by their partner who is in a deep sleep, when you have to decide whether to disrupt their sleep or accept the moment, a call in and of itself to continue resting. “Geméntu,” or “sleepy” in Wolof, the eponymous work of the series and the only self-portrait for the time being, is based on a photograph my partner took of me after a rough day; oriented vertically to emphasize how we force ourselves to continue when our bodies need rest.
Lisa Diane Wedgeworth
Lisa Diane Wedgeworth employs painting, performance, and film to interpret energy as an investigation of personal and collective narratives. Through abstraction, her films examine Black womanhood, the domestic slave trade, Jim Crow, and the civil rights movement, creating space for processing historical trauma and envisioning liberation.
The Calling
Single channel video, color, sound
4:03 min
2018
In this meditation on being, land, water, returning, change, endings, and beginning, a woman is called home to the sea. Following a mother-daughter pilgrimage to Birmingham, Montgomery, and Selma, Wedgeworth layers meditative film with lush soundscapes and visuals of shells, domestic interiors, and waves. She grieves and honors those who endured the Domestic Slave Trade, Jim Crow, and the Civil Rights Era, exploring the spiritual tugging toward ancestral land where family toiled, built, and raised generations across the American South.
Untitled (Home Depot) on loop
Single-channel video, black-and-white, no sound
6:55 min
2016
Wedgeworth considers her current status as a woman in between—no longer in her 20s and not yet in her 50s—as she contemplates the descriptive language and objects used to qualify her body specifically and the female body in general from a distinctly male perspective. In this contemplative black-and-white single-channel video, she studies her reflection while captions reveal objectifying terminology. Through quiet self-examination, Wedgeworth confronts misogynoir and ageism, reclaiming divinity not through external measurement but through refusal and self-love.
Naomi Stewart
Naomi Stewart is a curator, consultant and founder of Black in Place, working primarily in the greater Los Angeles region. Stewart received her BA in Anthropology with a concentration in Art History from Hawaii Pacific University and her MBA from Pepperdine University's Graziadio Business School. Past curatorial projects include Black In Place (Angels Gate Cultural Center, 2025), No Song Unsung (Brea Gallery, 2023), a time to tear, a time to mend (Wonzimer, 2022), Into the Deep, Unto the New (Inbreak Residency, 2021), Borderline (Angel’s Gate, 2021), and The Emergent (SuperCollider, 2020). Through a lens of identity, collective healing, and somatic ecology, Stewart's curatorial practice is guided by intuition, poetry, dreamspace, and anthropological methodologies.
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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 healing justice 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.