About

As part of the programming for Fridman Gallery's "A Treatise On Color," curator and conceptual artist J.E. Azmi sat down with ruby onyinyechi amanze to discuss the exhibition's central themes.

Nelson Bandela is a multimedia artist who combines the cacophony of the DaDa art movement with elements of a choose your own adventure game in the land of Funk.

Shahzad Ismaily is a Brooklyn-based musician, composer and engineer. Born to Pakistani immigrant parents, he grew up in a wholly bicultural household. Exploring improvisation, tonal shifts and rhythmic movement, Ismaily worked with a number of avante-garde musicians and composers including Laurie Anderson, Anthony Coleman, Milford Graves, Eyvind Kang, Butch Morris and Marc Ribot. Over the last thirty years he has played electric bass, drums, percussion, guitar, synthesizers and all manner of sound-makers procured in life's travels.

Multimodal artist WAYV WILSON (they/them) was born in Philadelphia in the late 80s and grew up in Philadelphia and Chester, Pennsylvania. Being reared in a musical family and culture formed them into a soundsmith. Having vast musical expressive experience across various genres is a hallmark of their creative practice. They received classical training for 12 years in voice and went on to become a background vocalist, vocal producer and multi-instrumentalist. WAYV is a gifted singer-songwriter, with comparable skills as a poet, rapper, and producer. Arranging, engineering, and filmmaking are the latest skills at the artist's disposal. They are currently releasing their latest art piece, WAYVCAST, an audio visual contemplation on the contemporary human experience, on a monthly basis.

Mark Dresser is a Grammy nominated, internationally renowned bass player, improviser, and composer. At the core of his music is an obsession and commitment to expanding the sonic, musical, and expressive possibilities of the contrabass.

EL Tsid, the Atlanta-born artist who writes, sings, and produces music straight from the heart-with a dash of spontaneity. Her music, which spans genres and defies easy categorization, reflects her diverse influences and her deep understanding of the creative process. As an autodidact, EL Tsid's journey in music is a testament to her relentless pursuit of knowledge and her commitment to honing her craft.

William Parker is a bassist, improviser, composer, writer, and educator from New York City. He has recorded over 150 albums, published six books, and taught and mentored hundreds of young musicians and artists. He has been called "one of the most inventive bassists/leaders since [Charles] Mingus," and "the creative heir to Jimmy Garrison and Paul Chambers...directly influenced by '60s avant-gardists like Sirone, Henry Grimes and Alan Silva." The Village Voice called him, "the most consistently brilliant free jazz bassist of all time" and Time Out New York named him one of the "50 Greatest New York Musicians of All Time."