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August Issue 2009
Gibbes Museum
of Art in Charleston, SC, Offers Exhibition from American Folk
Art Museum
The Gibbes Museum of
Art in Charleston, SC, is presenting the Smithsonian traveling
exhibition, Ancestry & Innovation: African American Art
from the American Folk Art Museum, on view through Oct. 11,
2009.
The range of artistic expressions by self-taught African American
artists from the rural South and the urban North is explored in
this exhibition culled from the American Folk Art Museum's rich
holdings. The exhibition highlights complex and vibrant quilts,
paintings, works on paper and sculpture by contemporary African
American artists.
Comprising ten quilts and nearly thirty works of art in various media, Ancestry & Innovation includes paintings by an elder generation of creators, such as David Butler, Sam Doyle, Bessie Harvey and Clementine Hunter; works by contemporary masters, such as Thornton Dial Sr.; and provocative pieces by emerging artists, such as Kevin Sampson and Willie LeRoy Elliot. Juxtaposed with richly patterned and graphically exciting quilts, the exhibition celebrates the ongoing contribution of black artists to the kaleidoscope of American cultural and visual experience.
"We're delighted that objects from New York's American Folk Art Museum will be featured throughout our second floor galleries in this exciting exhibition offered through the Smithsonian. The folk art tradition is a strong component of the history of art in the South. Ancestry & Innovation allows us to provide a context for this creative story," noted Gibbes Executive Director Angela Mack.
Stacy C. Hollander,
senior curator and director of exhibitions at the American Folk
Art Museum, and Brooke Davis Anderson, director and curator of
The Contemporary Center at the museum, are the curators of the
exhibition. "The unique presentation of vibrant quilts in
conjunction with sculpture and painting enriches the viewer's
appreciation for the complexity and vitality of African American
expression," said Hollander.
The exhibit was organized by the American Folk Art Museum in New
York, and circulated by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling
Exhibition Service. The exhibition was made possible by the generous
support of MetLife Foundation. The National Endowment for the
Arts provided generous support to the American Folk Art Museum
through its American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic
Genius initiative. Sponsors of the exhibition at the Gibbes
include the auxiliary group Gibbes, etc. and media sponsor Charleston
Magazine.
Since its inception,
the American Folk Art Museum has explored the creativity of African
Americans through its exhibitions, collections and publications.
Drawings, sculptures, paintings and quilts by black artists have
become a vital part of the museum's holdings, and 20th-century
artists are represented through significant numbers of works.
Since its founding in 1961, the American Folk Art Museum has been
one of the nation's foremost resources for the study, collection,
preservation and enjoyment of folk art. The museum is home to
one of the world's pre-eminent collections of folk art dating
from the 17th century to the present, including paintings, sculpture,
photography, textiles, ceramics and other decorative arts, as
well as the work of contemporary self-taught artists from this
country and abroad.
The Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES)
has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research
programs with millions of people outside Washington, DC, for more
than 50 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural
heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science
and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play.
Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858, the Gibbes
Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located
in Charleston's historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier
collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston
or Southern connection, and presents special exhibitions throughout
the year.
For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery
listings, call the Museum at 843/722-2706 or visit (www.gibbesmuseum.org).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.