Amos Eno Gallery
56 Bogart Street
Brooklyn, NY 11206
718-237-3001
amosenogallery@gmail.com
Gallery open Thursday through Sunday, 12 - 6 PM
*The gallery is closed July 2nd-3rd for 4th of July weekend*
Celebrating Over 45 Years of Exhibitions
DEI Statement: Amos Eno Gallery is a space committed to diversity, equity and inclusion. We are proud of our intersectional membership body
and don't discriminate based on any factors when working with artists and the community. We serve as a space for respect, free from bias
for exhibiting artists and guests alike.

Rosemary Meza-DesPlas
Jane Anger
January 31-February 24, 2019
Amos Eno Gallery is pleased to present Jane Anger, an exhibition of new works by Rosemary Meza-DesPlas. Jane Anger features hand-sewn human hair drawings, watercolors and onsite installations. Rosemary Meza-DesPlas’ figurative artworks emphasize line and movement. The title refers to a 16th century pamphlet published in England titled Jane Anger, Her Protection for Women. An opening reception will be held on Friday, February 1 from 7-9 PM at the gallery’s location at 56 Bogart Street in Brooklyn, NY.
Meza-DesPlas, also a spoken word performer, will present her piece titled Intervals of Anger at the opening reception. She will perform a poem every fifteen minutes in conjunction with an artwork in the exhibition.
“Every woman has a well-stocked arsenal of anger potentially useful against those oppressions, personal and institutional, which brought that anger into being.” –Audre Lourde
Meza-DesPlas explores the concept of anger as a tool for change by juxtaposing found imagery from social media, art history and mass media. She is interested in how the social movements, Women’s Marches and #MeToo, harnessed anger in order to forefront an array of gender-based burdens.
This exhibition includes Meza-DesPlas’ most recent drawings which incorporate her gray hair. She has been sewing with her own hair since 2000. Her hair is hand-sewn into a variety of grounds with small embroidery needles. Meza-DesPlas’ decision to collect, sort and utilize hair as a vehicle for art-making is informed by socio-cultural symbolism, feminism and body issues, and religious symbolism. Hair embodies a dichotomy: it can be sexy and engaging to people, on the other hand, it can be repulsive – like a hair in your soup or a hair on your hotel pillow. There are religious connotations to hair which coincide with symbolism reflecting strength, sensuality and reverence; such as Delila cutting off Samson’s hair and Mary Magdalen washing the feet of Jesus with her hair.
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas received a MFA in Painting from Maryland Institute, College of Art (Hoffberger School of Painting) and a BFA from The University of North Texas. An article on her hand-sewn human hair drawings was featured in the Huffington Post Arts & Culture section in 2015. Ms. Meza-DesPlas parallels the themes in her artwork with the written word and spoken word performances. In 2018, she presented the academic paper “Reclaiming the Tool of Anger: Year of the Angry Women” at the 9th International Conference of the Image in Hong Kong SAR. Ms. Meza-DesPlas’ recent spoken word performances were at the Feminist Art Conference, Ontario College of Art & Design, Toronto, Canada; Center for Contemporary Arts, Santa Fe, NM; ARC Gallery in Chicago, IL and the Durango Arts Center in Durango, CO. Ms. Meza-DesPlas currently lives and works in Farmington, New Mexico.
Image: Detail, Slow Burn, hand sewn human hair.