REVIEW: SIX DEGREES of SEPARATION at SMITH Contemporary
Several years ago, during a discussion I was having with legendary artist Willie Birch, he made a statement which I will never forget regarding New Orleans—the miraculous city we both have the gift of calling our hometown. After living in New York City during the 1970s and ‘80s and being immersed within the canon of art history (Birch was the 1977-78 Studio Museum in Harlem artist in residence, and he participated in his friend David Hammons’ 1982 performance Human Pegs / Pole Dreams), he then moved back to New Orleans. When referencing what influenced this decision, he mentioned one aspect being related to the fact that regardless of what life or artistic turbulences he knew he might experience, New Orleans was a place where he knew he’d always be able to find someone “who would give him a bowl of red beans and rice.” This simply profound statement is one that fully encapsulates a major part of New Orleans’ magic. As the most African-rooted city in the United States, the ways in which the city “does” community fully and perpetually blurs the “separation” that traditionally exists between individuals in other communities.
Read Full REVIEW by Nic[o] Brierre Aziz in the WINTER issue.
Street Date: Tuesday December 9th 2025
Nic[o] Brierre Aziz
Nic[o] Brierre Aziz is a Haitian-New Orleanian interdisciplinary artist and curator born and raised in New Orleans, LA. His practice often engages themes of history, pop culture and satire while centering narratives of the Caribbean and Southern United States. He is a graduate of Morehouse College, The University of Manchester (UK) and Yale University’s School of Art.
