Working across disciplines, but with a concentration in sculpture, video, and poetry, New York–based artist Diamond Stingily reflects on the issues of memory, gender, and systemic racial injustice in the United States. Through a bold use of readymade materials such as wooden doors, chains, and synthetic hair, Stingily imbues her work with personal narrative, often referencing her own upbringing in Chicago to explore memories of suburban life and Black girlhood, as well as racialized violence in everyday life.

Based on the artist’s memory of her grandmother’s apartment in Chicago, Entryways (2019) combines a found door mounted to the wall with an industrial pole, accompanied by a leaning baseball bat. The work radiates lingering terror, drawing a clear line between inside and outside and emphasizing separation and division enforced by violence. “I think violence is a part of every day for a lot of people. To not live in violence is a privilege,” Stingily says. Entryways poignantly reflects on notions of family and protection, while testifying to the formative impact of family.

Diamond Stingily (b. 1990, Chicago, Illinois) has exhibited her work at numerous galleries and museums, with solo exhibitions at the Kunstverein Munich (2019); California College of the Arts Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco (2019); and the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (2018). She has participated in various group exhibitions such as “Sonic Rebellion: Music as Resistance” at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (2017); “Trigger: Gender as a Weapon and a Tool” at the New Museum, New York (2017); and “The Ending of Violent Crime” at Queer Thoughts, New York (2015), among others.