Gallery View: Master Artists converge at Arthaus, Allentown
Press Photo by Ed Courrier: Curlee Raven Holton with his Hands Up Nimbus, (2020; mixed media; 20 x 22 in), Convergence: Exploring Connections Between Three Master Artists, ArtHaus, Allentown.
BY ED COURRIER SPECIAL TO THE PRESS
“Convergence: Exploring Connections Between Three Master Artists,” through Feb. 25, Arthaus, Allentown, presents an exhibition of prints by artists David C. Driskell, Faith Ringgold and Curlee Raven Holton that celebrates nearly 30 years of collaborative printmaking and dialogue between the three renowned African American artists. Holton, master artist, founder and operator of the Raven Fine Art Editions, has 12 prints in the exhibit.
Holton’s “Hands Up Nimbus,” (2020; mixed media, 20 in. x 22 in.) depicts a young black man, humbly looking down, with his hands held up. A luminous gold halo highlights his head. A trace of blood stains his shirt pocket.
“Nimbus is what a halo was originally called,” says Holton.
The nimbus, an image found in Christian art, predates Christianity as a symbol of honor and glory.
“He is surrendering to those forces that exist in the world,” Holton says about the subject’s demeanor, exhibiting a sense of “transformation and illumination.”
Holton founded the Experimental Printmaking Institute as a faculty member 1966-2017 at Lafayette College. Holton received a BFA in drawing and printmaking from Cleveland Institute of Fine Arts in 1987 and an MFA from Kent State University in 1990.
Holton began collaborative projects with Ringgold in 1993 and with Driskell in 2002.
Mama Can Sing, Papa Can Blow, 2021, serigraph/etching by Faith Ringgold
Faith Ringgold’s “Mama Can Sing, Papa Can Blow,” (2022, serigraph and etching, 23 in. x 32 in.) pays tribute to jazz musicians. Squiggles of energy surround the singer and saxophonist in the brightly- colored print.
Several works by Ringgold, a story-art quilter, feature Tibetan-inspired tanka and quilt-like border art.
“She couldn’t get many of her writings published,” says Holton. “So, she began to write around the border of her works.”
As publicity for her art exhibitions, the stories were printed on cards with images of her artwork.
Ringgold’s prose was published in award-winning children’s books.
Ringgold, a painter, mixed media sculptor, performance artist and educator, was born in 1930 in Harlem and resides in Englewood, N.J. Ringgold received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in the visual arts from the City College of New York in 1955 and 1959. She is Professor Emeritus of Art at the University of California, San Diego.
The Hibiscus, 2015, serigraph/relief by David C. Driskell
“The Hibiscus” (2015; relief, 15 in. x 12 in) by Driskell is one of 12 pieces in his “Doorway” portfolio series created in collaboration with poet Michael Albert and Holton. A black face is framed by colorful leaves and a blossom.
“The hibiscus plant was one of the items on a slave ship imported to the new world,” says Holton. A high-energy beverage was made by steeping parts of the plant and the “red drink” was fed to slaves. “It was a precursor to Kool-Aid,” Holton says.
“David [Driskell] was considered the founding authority for the study of African-American art and culture,” says Holton. During the United States’ Bicentennial in 1976, Driskell organized an exhibition of African-American artwork dating back to 1750.
Driskell, born in 1931, studied at the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, Maine, in 1953. He received an undergraduate degree in art from Howard University in 1955 and an MFA. from The Catholic University of America in 1962. He did postgraduate studies at The Netherlands Institute for the History of Art, The Hague.
Driskell, a professor of art at University of Maryland, College Park until his retirement in 1998, died of complications from COVID-19 in 2020.
The Raven Editions printmaking studio has been an Easton-based collaborative space since 2006. Prints are created in a range of printmaking techniques and run in limited editions.
“Convergence: Exploring Connections Between Three Master Artists,” through Feb. 25, Arthaus, a partnership between RE:find and the Allentown Arts Commission, 645 W. Hamilton St., Allentown. 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday. 610-841-4866 https://www.building.allentownarts.com
Source article published February 11. 2023 at 12:40AM by Lehigh Valley Press
“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com