Chela Mitchell Gallery is a contemporary art gallery rooted in community cultivation, the richness of culture and the amplification of unique voices in fine art and design. Founded in 2021 by art advisor Chela Mitchell, the gallery has quickly established itself as a premier destination to discover artists who push boundaries and inspire new perspectives.

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

Livin’ Proof unites Chrys Seawood’s monumental installation and Evan Ross’s large-scale photographs to explore sneaker culture at a moment of maturity, presenting sneakers as memory objects rooted in lived experience. Seawood’s towering structure—assembled from worn basketball sneakers, milk crates, zip ties, basketballs and looping vintage sneaker commercials—evokes urban landscapes, makeshift hoops and the resourcefulness of under-resourced communities. Sneakers sourced through his earlier projects wrap the form as personal artifacts, including autographed game-worn pairs and shoes donated by DC basketball legend Lonnie Harrell, inscribed with his aliases and mantras, while hidden elements and commercials introduce tension between street culture and commercialization. Ross’s intimate sneaker portraits counter this scale, photographing his personally worn shoes against stark white backdrops with the precision of e-commerce imagery; inverted compositions and tight crops transform aging icons into relics rather than ruins. Installed like an unboxing timeline, the works together recenter sneaker culture on the communities that shaped its meaning.