DVAA presents Avani Patel and Kazzrie Jaxen in conversation and more.
In celebration of Avani Patel’s exhibition Rhythmic Allure (on view at DVAA until October 26th), the DVAA invites you to join Avani and jazz musician Kazzrie Jaxen for a discussion about improvisation, color, expression and everything else that inspires and connects their artistic practices. After the talk, you will be invited upstairs to Krause Recital Hall where Kazzrie will take to the grand piano, Avani will lie underneath the piano, and everyone will experience an improvised journey into Avani’s paintings through a Dreaming In Music Session, inspired by Avani’s work.
Avani Patel: Born in Mumbai 1976, India, Avani Patel was immigrated to Pennsylvania with her family at 11 years old. She holds a BA from the Penn State University and an MFA from Tyler School of Arts (Temple University). Her cultural background has had a profound impact on the forging of her identity as an artist. As a young girl living in India, she fell in love with the patterns of dresses, exotic colors, the sound of music, as well as the spectacle of both theatre and cinema. They were all fluidly interconnected, effectively symbolizing the rhythm of daily life. Indian culture is the starting point of her work. The range of Indian culture expressed through film, theatre, music, and performance are all sources of artistic inspiration for her. Even though from far away from home, she continue to explore the boundaries between Eastern and Western cultural influences.
Her paintings have been exhibited in New York, Providence, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Ohio, Virginia, Chicago, Dubai, Panama, Portugal, and Mexico. From 2003 to 2006, she displayed her paintings at the American Embassy in Panama’s ambassador house, and in 2005, she was asked to lead workshops in schools and art centers, creating collaborative art installations based on everyday objects in her personal life. Collin Powell and Laura Bush invited her to honor American artists at the Art in Embassies in 2005, alongside other artists and gallerists. She worked on the public project America’s Chinatown Voices at Columbus Park in New York City, organized by the Asian American Art Center in 2008 and 2009. Three hundred panels illustrating stories of Asian Americans in New York were publicly displayed in Chinatown New York City. The Philadelphia Museum of Art proudly exhibited two of her paintings from 2002 to 2008. She has done residency with Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Chashama Visual Arts, and Triangle Arts.
Kazzrie Jaxen: Pianist/Vocalist/Composer Kazzrie Jaxen has been a vital part of the improvising music scene for many years. Her musical expression ranges from free improvisation and jazz standards to original songs and vibrational journeys into the dreamtime. She has recorded for the Cadence, Jazz Records, and New Artists labels. Her most recent release is an homage to the Delaware River with guitarist Bud Tristano entitled “Lenapewiattuck: River of the Lenape.” Her performances have included concerts at NYC venues such as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Recital Hall, Town Hall, The Blue Note, Birdland, The Stone, Soapboax Gallery, as well as concerts in the US and in Europe She has toured with her one-woman show combining original music, artwork, poetry and prose. She has also created music for several award-winning sort films, and was the subject of “Dear Director,” a hybrid fictional/documentary directed by Marcus Lindeen. Current projects include performing and recording “Bolts of Melody: The Startling Convergence of Emily Dickinson and Connie Crothers;” trio and duo recordings due to be released in 2025; an audio version of Frederick Leboyer’s “Birth Without Violence;” and a collaboration with poet/performance artist Eric Baylin. In 2023 she was interviewed by Danish writer Jakob Baekgaard for the online magazine “All About Jazz.” The interview is titled “Kazzrie Jaxen — The Impulse of Creation.” An extended version of that interview appears in his book, “At the Piano: Portraits and Pieces in the Key of Jazz.” Kazzrie has taught Qigong, Tai Chi, and Meditation at The Lodge at Woodloch in Hawley, PA since 2006.
