ArtHaus and Raven Editions Present Convergence
Convergence: Exploring connections between three master artists.
A new exhibition of works by master artists David C. Driskell, Faith Ringgold, and Curlee Raven Holton.
Mama Can Sing, Papa Can Blow, 2022, serigraph/etching, by Faith Ringgold
In celebration of Black History Month, ARTHAUS presents Convergence, an exhibition of unique prints by artists David C. Driskell, Faith Ringgold, and Curlee Raven Holton that reveal connections between contemporary African American printmaking and visual culture. Organized by curators Jon Clark, Design Director of RE:find and Gallery Manager of ARTHAUS, and Deborah Rabinsky, Curator and Director of ARTHAUS and the MEZZ Gallery at the Renaissance Allentown Hotel, the exhibition will be on view at ARTHUAS in Allentown, PA from January 17th to February 25th.
The exhibition draws together the extensive careers of each artist into a comprehensive examination of the role of collaboration in artistic development. Collaboration has been the vanguard of experimental printmaking processes, allowing multiple artists to engage in a shared creative ambition. Curlee Raven Holton, former director of EPI and founder of Raven Editions, has championed collaboration as perhaps the most diverse and dynamic aspect of printmaking. “Out of those collaborations comes the realization that each artist offers their own contribution, and that each can still be recognized for their contribution, passion, and commitment in the work.”1 Artists that embrace this communal aspect of the printmaking process find the collaboration to be nurturing and engaging, often encouraged to create work that might exceed their own creative imagination and artistic abilities. This exhibition is a celebration of nearly thirty years of collaborative printmaking and communal dialogue between renowned artists Faith Ringgold, David C. Driskell, and Curlee Raven Holton, highlighting nuances and similarities among the artists.
Doorway, 2009, serigraph, by David C. Driskell
Collaborative approaches to the medium create a shared, neutral space where work can be created by more than one artist, engaging artists in a transformative creative process that emphasizes how each participant's aesthetics are impacted by the visual languages of other artists. This process allows artists to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s imagery and techniques, an imperative aspect of building long-standing, generative relationships with their collaborators. The works embody this practice of shared talent, skills, passions, and vision.
The exhibition presents limited edition hand-pulled prints produced in traditional and experimental mediums such as etching, relief, monoprint, and serigraph. The prints on view engage with a range of printmaking processes which have resulted in some of the most inventive applications of the medium that focus on the deeply personal partnerships forged in the collaborative process.
On display are works created by Faith Ringgold over the last few decades that represent her unique Neo-primitive style in figurative compositions with bold colors and thematic visions. Ringgold remains a key figure in the arts with a transformative approach to the visual language of protest. Her work links the multi-disciplinary achievements of the Harlem Renaissance to the political art of young Black artists today. She began collaborating with Master Printer Curlee Raven Holton in 1993.
Hands Up, Nimbus, 2020, digital/serigraph, by Curlee Raven Holton
David C. Driskell is represented by his acclaimed “Doorway Series” of twelve unique prints and a selection of other prints reflecting the diversity of his work with master printer Curlee Raven Holton. Driskell’s work uses the integration of abstraction and figurative elements to incorporate his connections to the South and comment on racial and social issues. As a scholar and curator, Driskell was considered the foremost authority on African American art, and his work has toured nationally and internationally. Driskell began his studio collaboration with Master Printer Curlee Raven Holton in 2003.
Curlee Raven Holton's images include multi-media prints that explore the emotional complexity surrounding significant personal, political, and cultural events. His selection includes a number of early relief prints, digital prints, and examples of his most recent works representing a diversity of approaches to the print medium. Holton’s work expresses a larger creative project to restore humanity and encourage showing our vulnerabilities. Holton founded and operated The Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College (1996-2017) and Raven Fine Art Edition (2006-present).
Join us for this exceptional exhibition of these internationally recognized artists
who produce their fine print works here in the Lehigh Valley.
On View
January 17, 2023 - February 25, 2023
ARTHAUS
ARTHAUS is owned and operated by RE:find and Deborah Rabinsky
Exhibition Credits
Exhibition made possible by generous support from City Center Allentown, and the Lehigh Valley Arts and Culture Alliance
General Information
ARTHAUS is located at Two City Center, 645 W. Hamilton Street, Allentown, Pennsylvania. Showing Tuesday-Saturday, 11-6, or by appointment. Call 610-841-4866 or visit their website for more information.