“OUTSIDE - The Escape” Opening Reception

Artwork by De’Vonne Foxworth. Curated by Tolani Verissimo. Presented by Joyce Gordon Foundation.

“OUTSIDE” is the first exhibit presentation by Bay Area artist De’Vonne Foxworth, and it’s only fitting to experience it at the pulse of fine art in downtown Oakland - Joyce Gordon Gallery.

At its heart, “OUTSIDE” explores escapism and the liberating freedom found in choosing where our minds, bodies, and spirits play. For Black youth, the choice to escape into wonder, creativity, and adventure is an intentional claim to absolute personhood. When we lean into cathartic release, we assert that our capacity for happiness, fantasy, and peace is entirely our own.

To actively choose joy in the face of life's struggles is an act of radical self-defiance. Joy functions as a spiritual disruptor—it declares that external hardships do not hold the power to dictate our internal world or limit our imagination. The body of work by De’Vonne Foxworth centers this truth: the Black experience is defined b