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‘SexyNotSilent’ Exhibit Is Colorful Exploration Of Women’s Many Faces

Host Frank Stasio speaks with artist Natasha Powell Walker about her new exhibit, 'Sexy Not Silent'.

Visual artist Natasha Powell Walker was struck by the dichotomy required of her as a woman in corporate America: at work she had to be cutthroat and self-promotional, while her friends and family expected her to be loving and nurturing as soon as she left the office.

The struggle to deal with these conflicting expectations led Powell Walker to create a series of paintings that represent the many characters women embody and the multitude of faces they present to the world. Powell Walker’s work will be on display in the Friedl Gallery on Duke’s East Campus in a new exhibit beginning Jan.18.

Host Frank Stasio talks with Powell Walker about her art, how it resonates at this moment of greater societal reckoning with how women are perceived and treated in the workplace, and a public conversation she is moderating on Jan. 18 with Patrick Douthit, aka 9th Wonder, about his own art and path to national success. She gives an artist's talk about the exhibit at the Friedl Gallery on Jan. 25.

"Evolved," part of Natasha Powell Walker's "SexyNotSilent" exhibit.
courtesy of Natasha Powell Walker /
"Evolved," part of Natasha Powell Walker's "SexyNotSilent" exhibit.
"Jazz," part of Natasha Powell Walker's "SexyNotSilent" exhibit.
courtesy of Natasha Powell Walker /
"Jazz," part of Natasha Powell Walker's "SexyNotSilent" exhibit.
Visual artist Natasha Powell Walker is a self-taught illustrator and painter in Durham.
courtesy of Natasha Powell Walker /
Visual artist Natasha Powell Walker is a self-taught illustrator and painter in Durham.

Copyright 2018 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Jennifer Brookland is a temporary producer for The State of Things.