Please join us on 3rd Friday, November 15th, as Kiosk Gallery presents William Toney: Social Fabric, a solo exhibition featuring photography, installation, and assemblage. Toney’s work explores the complicated history of aspects of popular urban culture from personal, familial, and societal perspectives.

Artist Statement:

In this exhibition, I use photography, installation, and assemblage sourced from a combination of found and personal materials. Objects selected from my local environment become key components in compositions that represent a lived experience. The convergence of materials, such as denim, cotton, and tobacco, refer to their troubling presence in American history, while maintaining the celebratory status of their more current position in popular culture and fashion. My previously worn clothing, now somewhat outdated and oversized, has become an artifact of a particular moment in Black consumerism when it was popular to wear name brand clothing that was meant to be read. The message on them was often overtly political. Signifiers, motifs, and stereotypes associated with popular urban culture are used to question their position as status symbols. In a short period of time, the importance of expressing one’s “wokeness” verbally and politically has amplified, yet the fashion trends have become more subtle. The work in Social Fabric attempts to reclaim power by demanding to be seen in a different context, using personal narrative and shared history to describe the changing trends in the ongoing pursuit of representation and equality.

Bio:

William Toney is from Raytown, Missouri. Toney earned a B.F.A. in photography from the University of Missouri - Columbia in 2012. He currently lives and makes mixed media work in Kansas City, MO. Toney was awarded a Drugstore KC ‘Gift of Faith Award’ in 2017 and was a resident until 2019. He is a recipient of the 2019 Charlotte Street Studio Residency.

Artist’s Reception:
Friday, November 15th, 2019
6-9 pm
show runs through January 9th, 2020

Open Hours:
Fridays 12-6 pm
Saturdays 12-4 pm
& by appointment

Holiday Closures:
Friday, November 29th & Saturday, November 30th for Thanksgiving
Friday, December 27th & 28th for Christmas and New Year’s