Susan Kim Alvarez, Diana Eusebio, Cici McMonigle, Emiliana Henriquez, Cornelius Tulloch
Soul Storm
22 February – 29 March, 2025
The group exhibition “Soul Storm” brings five emerging artistic positions from Los Angeles and Miami to Munich, with new works by Susan Kim Alvarez, Diana Eusebio, Emiliana Henriquez, Cici McMonigle and Cornelius Tulloch. Their works enter into unexpected dialogues that reflect contemporary society but also share deeply personal journeys.
Within the context of the exhibition, viewers are invited to contemplate alternative narratives and visit ulterior points of departure informed by ontological, epistemological and anthropological considerations each artist approaches in a very personal way. Viewers are encouraged to look in the mirror and do some soul storming that extends past the immediate experiences with the art in the gallery space. Soul storming, inspired by the lyrics of singer Patrice, refers to a deeper level of connection in turbulent times, that combines finding collective solutions by listening to the entirety of our being and experiences, and also extending this listening to the people around us.
Viewers are asked to insert themselves and move the ideas and related conversations further. Can we try to switch off our head and use our soul instead? Can we find a deeper truth and points of connection by engaging in joint soul storming? Through painting and textile works, we are subtly asked to be contemplative and approach what we encounter with true depth. Yet, we are also invited to dream, learn, have fun and appreciate encounters with various protagonists and even a few whimsical and fantastical creatures that we meet in conceptual landscapes, connecting us with Miami, a space where many identities and voices come together, especially from the Global South.
The artists celebrate cultural heritage and ancestral wisdom, reflect on everyday experiences, emotions and the chaos of being, and ultimately generate ideas and dialogues relevant to all of us.
Susan Kim Alvarez uses paints to create wondrous landscapes filled with humor, satire and introspective exploration. The paintings depict a conglomeration of mythologies based on her personal and childhood experiences. This new collection of works “brings the heat of Miami to Munich,” as the artist says, weaving together personal stories of family and friends with historical art references. Through vibrant colors and dynamic compositions, Alvarez translates the city’s energy into a visual language that invites viewers to experience special moments in the Sunshine State.
Diana Eusebio’s new works continue her research into the connections between color and its cultural significance, and natural textile dyeing techniques and recipes from Indigenous Latin American and Afro-Caribbean traditions, recognizing their role as carriers of ancestral wisdom. Eusebio's fusion of ancestral and modern techniques, including dyeing and photography, contributes to contemporary cultural preservation and celebrates the rich heritage and Pre-Columbian knowledge embedded within these communities.
Los Angeles-based artist Emiliana Henriquez explores how universal symbols can bridge cultural and identity gaps with a unique approach to color palette that tinges the protagonists in an often hazy and uncanny light. The resulting moody and evocative paintings capture personal memories, representing her own subjective experience as a Latina artist.
Cici McMonigle’s paintings are inspired by fables and stories. She describes the works in this show as “small tales captured in paint.” Painting on wood with thick edges, the artist gives them the feel of antique boxes—objects that hold mysteries, memories, and a touch of magic.
Cornelius Tulloch’s interdisciplinary practice transcends the barriers of photography, fine art, and architecture to tell powerful multi-layered stories steeped in Caribbean cultural heritage. He investigates transatlantic narratives of Black histories and social and spatial formations of culture. His latest painting titled “Ascend” builds on Tulloch’s exploration of the visual aesthetics of marronage. Camouflaging the body into the natural landscape, this work highlights the relationship between flora and heritage. Its composition establishes value and symbolism that is created by the everyday iconography of these plants. Ackee, the national fruit of Jamaica, is depicted ascending up the figure almost as a costume or an extension of the body. The landscape begins to mask the figure, adorning it in a protective manner, just as the wilderness protected the Windward Maroons of the island.
Heike Dempster is an art writer, curator, and artist advocate.
For over a decade, she has worked in interdisiplinary arts administration at organizations such as YoungArts and the Pérez Art Museum Miami.
Her most recent curatorial projects include “Sound, Stories” at Locust Projects featuring artists Helina Metaferia, Ambrose Murray and Ania Freer; “Priscilla Aleman: The Ocean Within”; “Cornelius Tulloch: Rhythmic Landscape; Patterns of Identity”; and “Malaika Temba: Wild Women Don’t Have the Blues” at Soho Beach House.
Her articles and essays have been published in Aesthetica, ArtDistricts, Art Pulse, Rooms: Art Uncovered, Whitewall Magazine, and The OG Magazine, as well as numerous exhibition catalogues such as “The New African Portraiture: Shariat Collections” at Kunsthalle Krems in Krems, Austria.
Prior to landing in Miami, Dempster lived and worked as a writer, TV and radio host, and producer in Jamaica and the Bahamas. Originally from Munich, she is a graduate of London Metropolitan University in London, UK, and the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.