Select Art Exhibitions: Highlights for Coming Months

This post simply highlights a few of the current and upcoming African American art exhibitions that have been planned for the next coming months. Although it is not comprehensive in scope, it does present the quality, depth, and diversity of exhibitions that are on the scene. For a more comprehensive national view of exhibitions on view, see the right sidebar, Select Art Exhibitions in 2011; that list includes over 30 exhibitions with an African American focus. Bear in mind that the exhibitions listed in the right sidebar are updated on a regular basis by either removing those that have ended or adding new ones as they are identified. As a follower, you are invited to recommend exhibitions that you are aware of that are not included on either of these lists.

Atlanta, Georgia  

Auburn Avenue Research Library on

African American Culture and History (AARL)

Auburn Avenue Research Library on African American Culture and History (AARL) is a special library of the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System. AARL presents Charting the Course: African American Achievers in the 20th Century, a photographic exhibit featuring the work of donor and photographer, Raymond Wilson.  Mr. Wilson is a Washington, DC native and retired military officer who donated his collection to AARL. His clients have included the following: National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education, National Urban League, Congressional Black Caucus, and the Executive Leadership Council.   

Charting the Course is on view through June 24, 2011 at the Cary-McPheeters Gallery of AARL. An opening event is scheduled for Saturday, May 21, 2011 (4:00 - 6:00 pm) and will include a conversation between Raymond Wilson; Sheila Turner, curator of the exhibition; and guest photographers, Doris Derby and Jim Alexander. The Library is located at 101 Auburn Avenue; for additional information call AARL at 404/ 730-4001, ext. 100 or see events.

Baltimore, Maryland
Galerie Myrtis: Contemporary Fine Art Gallery

Abstraction: The Syncopation of Light, Color and Form, an exhibition, is on view at Galerie Myrtis through August 13, 2011. Drawing from their intuitions and imaginations, the six artists featured in Abstraction "form rhythmic patterns employing light and color to explore social issues, and the metaphysical and spiritual realm." For related activities and to view works form the six artists featured in the exhibition, visit the Gallery.

Jeffrey Kent, HeLa #34 Progression,
Acrylic on canvas

Jeffrey Kent, one of the featured artists, states "the idea for his series of paintings was sparked by the history of Henrietta Lacks and her cells, now known as HeLa cells. I was drawn to this story because of the parallel between her cells and the legacy of artists: just as HeLa cells have lived outside their original source for so long, artwork lives on long after the artist’s death." 

Chicago, Illinois
Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago

Mark Bradford, Scorched Earth, 2006
Collection of Dennis and Debra Scholl,
Photo: Bruce M. White



The exhibition, Mark Bradford, will be on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Chicago through September 18, 2011. Organized by the Wexner Center for the Arts, The Ohio State University, "This exhibition is the first survey of the artist's work to date. Spanning the years 2001 to 2010, it examines Bradford's work in all media, beginning with early sculptural projects, and culminating in a number of new commissions."

Admission is free for MCA members; there is a $20.00 fee for nonmembers. For further information and related programs, visit: MCA. A catalogue accompanies this exhibition. 

Greensboro, North Carolina
Weatherspoon Art Museum

Kara Walker, Savant, 2010, Etching
 with aquatint, sugar-lift, spit-bite
and dry-point, 27" x 17"

Weatherspoon Art Museum presents Race and Representation: The African American Presence in American Art in its Gregory D. Ivy Gallery on August 20 - November 20, 2011. To express its theme, artworks in Race and Representation have been drawn from the Weatherspoon’s permanent collection, and they represent different media and time periods. The featured artwork "will explore and affirm the fundamental interconnection of the African American presence in American visual culture."

 

The exhibition is organized around the recent acquisition of two works by eminent, contemporary artists Kara Walker and Leonardo Drew. "In the contrasting languages of figuration and abstraction, both artists speak to an understanding of the world forged by an African American identity and heritage. Complementing Walker’s An Unpeopled Land in Unchartered Waters (2010, edition 5/30) and Drew’s Number 119D (2009) is a range of works from the museum’s permanent collection that provides a broad cultural landscape within which to gauge Walker and Drew’s achievements."

For further information, call336/ 334-5770 or visit Weatherspoon.

New York, New York

June Kelly Gallery

James Little: Ex Pluribus Unum, an exhibition of new abstract paintings, consisting of "large, horizontal canvases covered with narrow vertical bands in a variety of geometric configurations and in unusual but harmonious combinations of brilliant color" will be on view at June Kelly Gallery through June 21, 2011. 

James Little, Difference between Then and Now,
2010, Oil and wax on canvas, 72" x 94"

Mario Naves, the art writer, has written an essay in the exhibition's invitation. To read excerpts from that essay and to view more images, see: Ex Pluribus Unum. 

June Kelly Gallery is located at 166 Mercer Street (between Houston and Prince Streets). For further information, call 212/ 226-1660 or visit the Gallery.

  

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sande Webster Gallery



Anthony Liggins, Purple Haze, Mixed media on canvas,
36" x 36", 2011



Sande Webster Gallery currently has two exhibitions, Anthony Liggins: While We Sleep the Sky Dances in the Main Gallery and Alonzo Davis: It's About the Climb in the Salon Gallery, on view through June 25, 2011.

Anthony Liggins' journey "continues to take people on a visual expression through art. I love to captivate, motivate, and inspire others. One transcends through a spiritual oasis in time through color, technique, and stimulating visuals." To read more, see Liggins.   

The works featured by Alonzo Davis are from two series, Passageways and Sky Ladders. The following description of each series is in the words of the artist.

The Passageways series grew out of Davis' fascination by the "carved doors of the Dogon people of Mali." According to the artist, "My doors...are painted and embellished with fetishes or found objects rather than carved. Each door is framed with lengths of bamboo."

Sky Ladders represent the artist's "goal-oriented approach to life," and first appeared in a scroll-like painting he did in 1984. Over time, Davis learned that "the ladder had symbolic significance in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, India, Oceania, and pre-Columbia. It can represent transcendence, union between heaven and earth, and ancestral reunion." 

For additional information, visit the Gallery. 

Roseville, California

22 South Grant Street Gallery

Milton 510 Bowens,
Afro-classical series (John Coltrane),
Mixed media



22 South Grant Street Gallery presents Milton 510 Bowens: The Time Harlem Came to Roseville from June 4 - 30, 2011. This solo, contemporary fine art exhibition will feature new original paintings from Bowens' "Afro-classical volume 3 collection." In addition to the visual arts, this exhibition will highlight poetry and music. 

Accompanying programs follow: 

• Special Collector's Champagne Reception with the artist on June 4, 2011 from 6:00 - 9:00 pm.  
• Gallery grand opening reception celebration with live bee-bop and swing music, featuring live poetry recitals on June 11, 2011.
• Artist Talk featuring Milton Bowens: "Harlem's Influence and Impact on the Arts" on June 18, 2011. A special silent auction will be held during this event.

For more information, contact Kevin L. Santos-Coy at 916/ 613-4244 or via email at KLSCSTUDIO@yahoo.com.

Washington, DC

International Visions Gallery

International Visions Gallery presents Preston Sampson: Common Threads from June 9 - July 23, 2011. Sampson describes Common Threads as “a body of work that is about the universal dialogue of relationships, strength, dignity and aspirations of people to live, love and learn.” Central to this exhibit is selections from the ongoing Working Man series, which gives homage to the “blue collar hard working man who is the underpinning of all of our effete cosmopolitan yearnings.”

Preston Sampson,
Working Man 1, Mixed media,
24" x 36" 

Drawing inspiration from past work, Sampson explores new techniques of mixed media compositions with textiles and pulp painting. “My time working alongside a quilter on a project prompted me to more aggressively dig into textiles and patterns. My love of portraiture ...evolved into merging textiles with them to create the Working Man series, which finds itself a continuation of thematic constant in my work.”

For additional information, contact Tim Davis at 202/ 234-5112. Visit International Visions at the Gallery.

Select Art Exhibitions During Black History Month

Brentwood, Maryland

Gateway Arts Center

The Brentwood Arts Exchange and the Prince George's African American Museum and Cultural Center present Resonant Forms: Alonzo Davis, Martha Jackson-Jarvis, Frank Smith. The exhibition, Resonant Forms, will be on view at the Gateway Arts Center (1st floor, 3901 Rhode Island Avenue) until April 9, 2011.

Resonant Forms "is intensely visually rich. Its works frame a spectrum of artistic modes that range between expressing through pure color and speaking directly through the conceptual weight of material. Both means are important in each artist's work, while each artist approaches them in different ways."

There is an Opening Reception on Friday, February 11, 2011 from 5 - 8 pm. In addition there are a series of related programs:

• Artist Talk with Alonzo Davis, Martha Jackson-Jarvis and Frank Smith Saturday, February 12, 2011, 2 - 4 pm
• Message in the Bottle: A Discussion with Martha Jackson-Jarvis and A.M. Weaver, Saturday, March 19, 2011, 2 - 4 pm
• Alonzo Davis and The Bamboo Muse, a book of Davis’ artwork paired with the poetry and prose of twelve writers inspired by his work, Saturday, April 2, 2011, 2 - 4 pm

Chicago, Illinois

G. R. N'Namdi Gallery

Charles White, Jubilee, Oil on Board,
39" x 31½"

Charles White: The Shaping of Black America will be on view at the G. R. N'Namdi Gallery until  March 5, 2011. This exhibition consists of twelve pieces originally commissioned and acquired by the Johnson Publication Company in 1974 that tell the story of enslavement to liberation. To read more and view additional images of works from the exhibition, see: N'Namdi Gallery.

Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Willie Cole, Pressed Iron Blossom No. 3,
2005, Lithograph on two sheets
of Somerset paper, 35⅞" x 47¾"

Deep Impression: Willie Cole Works on Paper is on view February 12 - May 8, 2011 at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

This exhibition of over 30 prints, drawings, and photographs by Willie Cole encompasses works from 1979 to 2010. "Although best known as a sculptor, ...Cole has created a series of works on paper that incorporate his characteristic subjects: ironing boards, hairdryers, and shoes, among other manufactured products. He manipulates and reproduces these objects, imbuing them with several levels of meaning that address personal as well as economic, racial, and political issues. For example, he uses irons—some of which he found and some that were given to him by his grandmother, who was a domestic worker—to scorch patterns into paper." Read more at Brooks.

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is located at 1934 Poplar Avenue; phone: 901/ 544-6200.

New York, New York 

D C Moore Gallery

D C Moore Gallery presents Romare Bearden: Idea to Realization as one of its inaugural shows at the gallery's new location at 535 West 22nd Street. Romare Bearden is on view through March 12, 2011. An illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

"This focused show features a rare and vibrant group of original artworks that blend paint, photographic images, and abstracted cut-paper elements. Created as maquettes for murals, mosaics, book jackets, and other projects, most of them are being exhibited for the first time." For additional information, see Bearden. View other images at the gallery. 


Romare Bearden, Bessie, Duke, and Louis, c. 1981,
Collage on fiberboard, 12 ¼" x 43", D C Moore Gallery



Sacramento, California

Evolve the Gallery

Kamal Mansour, Hammerin' Hank,
Digital, fabric, found objects,
mixed media collage on canvas,
44" x 44"

Evolve the Gallery, in collaboration with the California Legislative Black Caucus, presents Made in America: An African-American Fine Art Perspective on February 10 -26, 2011. Evolve the Gallery is located at 2907 35th Street, Historic Oak Park.

The exhibition will include over 30 artists from across the country, including Richard Mayhew, Charles Bibbs, Gilbert Young, Kevin O'Keith, Charly Palmer, Alonzo Adams, Cindy Cephus, Kamal Mansour, Kelvin Curry, Kevin Cole, Marcella Muhammad, Milton Bowens, Rosalind McGary, Tamara Natalie Madden, Warren Goodson, and others.

Related Programs: 

• Art Premiere and Artist Reception, Thursday, February 10, 2011, 6 - 9 pm
• Opening Reception, Saturday, February 12, 2011, 6 - 9 pm
• Art Talk and Discussion will be held at The Guild Theater, 2828 35th Street, Historic Oak Park, Tuesday, February 15, 2011, 6 - 8 pm. This program will be moderated by Milton 510 Bowens and will include the following speakers: Senator Curren D. Price, Jr., Assemblyman Mike Davis, Bryan Keith Thomas, Akinsanya Kambon, and Elaine O'Brien.

For contact and more information, see Evolve the Gallery.

Sacramento, California

40 Acres Art Gallery

Milton 510 Bowens, American as Sweet Potato Pie,
Mixed media on canvas, 40" x 40", (Studio shot)



Milton 510 Bowens presents The Encyclopedia Blacktannica: A Contemporary Art Anthology of the African American Experience at the 40 Acres Art Gallery from February 10 - April 9, 2011. The Encyclopedia Blacktannica, consisting of a collection of 105 contemporary fine art paintings, navigates the interior landscape of the African American culture. "Bowens with his unique brand of Abstract Pop influenced mixed media paintings envelop the viewer as witness, participant, and long lost relative. This exhibition conjures reflections on history, family, struggle, perseverance and cultural pride."

Related Programs:

• Special Preview / Reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 5 - 9 pm  
•  Opening Reception: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 5 - 9 pm
• Black Face: An Art Talk with Milton 510 Bowens (The artist will be discussing the value of controlling our cultural image): Saturday, February 19, 2011, 3 - 6 pm
• Portrait of Post Racial America (panel discussion focused on the state of race relations in America today): Saturday, February 26, 2011, 3 - 6 pm

40 Acres Art Gallery is located at 3434 Broadway, Sacramento, California. For more information contact: Gail Williams, 510/ 417-1500, (gwilliams1918@comcast.net) or Michael Craft, 916/ 670-2932, (michael@aegbiz.com).   

Savannah, Georgia

The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation 

Rik Freeman, Moses Train, 2008,
Oil on canvas, 60 " x 72"

The King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation  presents an exhibition, Rik Freeman: The Chittlin Circuit Review on view February 6 - May 28, 2011. This series of paintings that the artist began in 1994 is based on the origin and roots of Blues music. The exhibit will feature 20 or more oil on canvas works. The underlying objective of the works is "to portray the reality of circumstances that birthed the musical genre, including but not limited to socio-political and cultural aspects of the African American lifestyle in the Deep South...."

The Chittlin Circuit Review represents a collaboration between the King-Tisdell Cottage Foundation and the Savannah Black Heritage Festival. The Opening Reception and Artist Talk are scheduled for Sunday, February 6, 2011, 3 - 5 pm at The Beach Institute which is located at 502 East Harris Street; phone: 912/ 234-8000. Follow this link to read more about the exhibition.

Sterling, Virginia

The Waddell Art Gallery

The Waddell Art Gallery, on the Loudoun Campus of Northern Virginia Community College, presents Claudia Gibson Hunter's Suspicious Activities from February 21 - March 25, 2011.

Claudia Gibson-Hunter,
Code Red: Insurgent,  2008,
Bleach, colored pencil, acrylics,
30" x 22"

Suspicious Activities is a series of over 40 works produced during the Bush administration that  explores the contradictions of terrorism, occupation, and war during that administration. According to Gibson-Hunter, "The damage language can induce not only to the originator of the speech, but to the speaker, the subject of the words and the society the words are spoken in is the subject of these pieces. Bone, muscles, blood sweat, tears, hearts and even souls, are rendered exempt null, void, through words spoken or left unsaid, by the military, the journalist, the scholar and the everyday American citizen."

The Waddell Gallery is located on the 1st floor of the Waddell Building, 1000 Harry Flood Byrd Highway. For additional information, contact: Don Depuydt, 703/ 450-2627.

Washington, DC

The Charles Sumner School, Museum and Archives

Black Artists of DC present The Black Exhibition at The Charles Sumner School, Museum and Archives through March 31, 2011. The Black Exhibition includes the following artists: Cedric Baker, Anne Bouie, James Brown, Jr., T. H. Gomillion, Bruce McNeil, Daniel T. Brooking, Adjoa J. Burrowes, Carlton Wilkinson, Michael B. Platt, Amber Robles-Gordon, John Earl Cooper, Alec Simpson, Kristen Hayes, Gloria C. Kirk, Carol A. Beane, Claudia "Aziza" Gibson-Hunter, Willard G. Taylor, Viola Burley Leak, and Jacqueline Lee.

Opening Reception: Thursday, February 10, 2011, 6:30 - 8:30 pm. The Charles Sumner School, Museum and Archives is located at 1201 17th Street, NW.

Washington, DC
International Visions - The Gallery



International Visions - The Gallery presents its Annual Small Works Show from February 10 - March 12, 2011. Thirty-eight artists will be featured including David C. Driskell, Wadsworth Jarrell, April Harrison, Annie Bouie, Kevin Cole, Tim Davis, Verna Hart, Helen Zughaib, Betty Press, Sam Gilliam, James Phillips, and others. For a full list of artists and additional information, visit: International Visions Gallery.

Reception: Saturday, February 12, 2011, 6:30 - 9:00 pm. International Visions Gallery is located at 2629 Connecticut Avenue, NW.