September 9 - October 30, 2022

After co-presenting as a minor in his first pre-collegiate professional art show with artist George Williams Jr. in Arrested Development, 5 Points Art Gallery + Studios’ second post-construction exhibition, Xavier Lightfoot returns to the gallery and his hometown of Milwaukee, WI with BFF (“best friend forever”) Sage Smith (Chicago, IL) with Sentiment, a joint mini retrospective of this friend duo’s life-changing and storied BFA journey, opening Friday, September 9, 2022, 6-9 p.m. (CST).

Both Spring 2022 undergraduates from Maryland Institute College of Art (Baltimore, MD), returning from a 2-month study abroad in Europe, and heading into their 1-year MFA intensive to complete their Masters of Art and Teaching, Lightfoot and Smith present colorful, almost psychedelic works, documenting their personal and professional exploration, growth and metamorphosis, independence and companionship from throughout their undergraduate experience.

Smith’s artwork, a whimsical arrangement of small but bold, graphically designed mixed media paintings on wood and ceramic sculptures, cheekily play on the sinister side of children’s fables and fairytales. Lightfoot’s current compositions, still characteristically gestural, larger scale mixed media drawings, paintings, and collages on canvas with embedded representations of the self, balance black and white drawing with colorful, meticulously painted maze-like line work and possess a distinctively different aesthetic and narrative from his Basquiat-resemblant, pre-adult work.

Self-described by the BFF duo, “Sentiment is a combination of works exploring the significance of processing emotions and experiences. We use vibrant colors and patterns to find a rhythm to channel and synthesize our overwhelming feelings. With inspirations from pop culture, including ballroom, children’s books, music, and film, we bridge our different visual languages to release our inner child. Humor, expression and playfulness are vital to our creation process. Although the structures differ, the core foundation of our work is unpacking and understanding the cacophony of the inner self...chaos if you will.”

Missed the opening reception artist talk? View here.