| Museum gotta see ‘um | ||||
| September 19, 2014, 05:00 AM By Susan Cohn Daily Journal | ||||
THE ROOTS OF THE SPIRIT ON VIEW AT NOTRE DAME DE NAMUR UNIVERSITY. The
Wiegand Gallery, part of Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont,
hosts the West Coast debut of four of the country’s most notable
Outsider artists in The Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr.
Imagination, Charlie Lucas and Kevin Sampson. The exhibit is curated by
Robert Poplack, Director of the Wiegand Gallery, and Martha Henry.
While Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Charlie
Lucas (Tin Man) and Kevin Sampson have all achieved renown as
self-taught African American artists, they refer to themselves simply as
American artists. Born in the mid-20th century, they came of age during
the Civil Rights movement when deep and abiding racial discrimination
was the norm. Lacking opportunities, education and artist role models,
they managed to become artists despite great social and economic
obstacles.
Martha Henry said, “Their artworks express their African and American culture, their everyday lives, dreams and aspirations. When we look into the mirror of the black experience we have a better understanding of American culture, values and spirituality. Black artists have played a vital role in distinguishing our culture throughout the world, indeed the black experience is so interwoven into our larger culture that it defines much of what the world perceives today as American.” Notions of divine intervention and spiritual renewal are at the heart of much of the foursome’s work. It is art that honors ancestors as an antidote to death and private grief. Examples are Kevin Sampson’s shrines to deceased friends and relatives; the ancestor thrones of Lonnie Holley and Mr. Imagination; and Charlie Lucas’ metal sculptures that honor his grandparents by their material and method. Their use of assemblage, found object sculpture and installation invite comparisons to contemporary art practices dating back from the beginning of the 20th century when Picasso and Braque, inspired by African art, began to use found objects in their work. Gallery Director Poplack said, “The processes of painting, assemblage, construction and found object sculpture reveal restless minds capable of expression that ranges from the serious to playful. The work shows an openness to the spirit of imagination as well as a desire to entertain. Their immersive, layered environments — often located in their yards and inside their homes — need to be experienced to be fully appreciated.” The Wiegand Gallery is part of the Madison Art Center, a stone building built as a carriage house on the country estate of the financier William Chapman Ralston. The exhibition space, with its porthole windows and skylights, is an inviting environment in which to experience art. The gallery’s mission is to focus attention on the contributions and accomplishments of important artists who are less recognized, as well as to exhibit lesser-known works of established artists. The Wiegand Gallery is located at 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont, on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur University. Admission is free. For information call 508-3595. The Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas and Kevin Sampson runs through Nov. 26; The public is invited to the opening reception 2 p.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21. LAST DAYS OF MODERNISM FROM THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART, AT THE DE YOUNG MUSEUM IN SAN FRANCISCO. The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco present Modernism from the National Gallery of Art: The Robert and Jane Meyerhoff Collection, an exhibition of 46 paintings and sculptures which includes works by Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, Roy Lichtenstein, Brice Marden, Barnett Newman, Robert Rauschenberg, Mark Rothko and Frank Stella. The de Young Museum is located at Hagiwara Tea Garden Drive in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. For information call (415) 750-3600 or visit www.deyoungmuseum.org. Through Oct. 12. PROJECT MAH JONGG: THE MEMORIES AND MEANING OF THE GAME, AT THE CONTEMPORARY JEWISH MUSEUM THROUGH OCT. 28. The 1920s through the 1960s were the heyday of the Chinese game of mah jongg in the United States — a game with a rich history in the Jewish American community, especially among women. The Contemporary Jewish Museum examines this cultural phenomenon with Project Mah Jongg, an exhibition that includes images and items from the mah jongg craze of the 1920s, including vintage advertisements, Chinoiserie and a colorful array of early game sets distributed by companies such as Milton Bradley and Parker Brothers. A game table at the core of the exhibition space encourages players and non-players alike to take part in a game of mah jongg and there are both American and Chinese sets on hand for visitors to play. 736 Mission St. (between Third and Fourth streets), San Francisco. For general information visit thecjm.org or call (415) 655-7800. Susan Cohn can be reached at susan@smdailyjournal.com or www.twitter.com/susancityscene. |
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Showing posts with label the roots of the spirit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the roots of the spirit. Show all posts
9/20/14
Museum gotta see ‘um
http://www.smdailyjournal.com/articles/arts/2014-09-19/museum-gotta-see-um/1776425130290.html
9/18/14
The Roots of the Spirit’ brings in outsider artists at Wiegand
http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/The-Roots-of-the-Spirit-brings-in-outsider-5762906.php
1 of 3
'The Roots of the Spirit’ brings in outsider artists at Wiegand
By Julian Guthrie
Published 4:40 pm, Wednesday, September 17, 2014
1 of 3
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“The Roots of the Spirit,” an exhibit at the Wiegand Gallery in Belmont, features artists Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Charlie Lucas (Tin Man) and Kevin Sampson. Photo: Courtesy Of Wiegand Gallery / Courtesy Of Wiegand Gallery
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The four artists whose work will have its West
Coast debut at the Wiegand Gallery in Belmont have this in common: They
are self-taught, use found objects and became artists out of some
personal tragedy.
They have been called outsider artists because they were not a part of the art establishment, didn’t know what they were making was art until someone gave it that label and have lives even more colorful than the objects they create. The more than 75 sculptures, drawings and paintings by Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Charlie Lucas (Tin Man) and Kevin Sampson are part of a new exhibit, “The Roots of the Spirit.”
Although the four men — Warmack is deceased — are known as outsider artists and African American artists, they refer to themselves simply as American artists.
“The works reflect each artist’s vision and ideas about art and why they make art,” said Martha Henry, curator of the “Roots” exhibit. “Is there a commonality? They all use found objects and feel that the found objects came to them. They all feel they are doing something that teaches about the present while preserving the past.”
Henry added, “Mr. Imagination wanted to make people happy. Kevin Sampson’s subjects are about class warfare. Lucas is making art to express the fears and joys and dreams of his neighbors and community. Lonnie feels he is rescuing materials and reintroducing it as sculpture.”
The works also tell a story of the artists’ ancestry. For Holley and Lucas, who live in the Deep South, there is a “Southern vernacular,” Henry said. Born in the mid-20th century, the men came of age during the civil rights movement, and faced racial strife and discrimination. Sampson has created shrines to deceased friends and relatives; Holley and Mr. Imagination have made “ancestor thrones;” and Lucas’ metal sculptures honor his grandparents through their materials and methods.
“This is a type of art that is much more prevalent in the South and in New York and Chicago,” said Henry, whose co-curator on the exhibit is Robert Poplack. “This is exciting to have a West Coast debut.”
The exhibition sees the foursome’s work reunited for the first time since a controversial 2011 Venice Biennale showing that happened despite having their invitation to represent the American Folk Art Museum within the framework of the international art world suddenly rescinded. With the help of Henry, the four secured a venue in Venice in an 11th century garden. Some of the works shown in “The Roots of the Spirit” exhibit were created while in Venice.
Holley, who recently expanded his art to include music and recording, will create a site-specific piece made from materials found on the university grounds.
“As boundaries break down between self-taught and formally educated artists,” says Henry, “I felt it important to celebrate the achievements of these four who emerged from the depths of personal despair to make valuable contributions to the American visual experience.”
Julian Guthrie is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jguthrie@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JulianGuthrieIf you go
The Roots of the Spirit: Opens Friday; reception 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Through Nov. 26. Noon-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Notre Dame de Namur University’s Wiegand Gallery, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont. (650) 508-3595. www.ndnu.edu/arts-events/wiegand-gallery.
They have been called outsider artists because they were not a part of the art establishment, didn’t know what they were making was art until someone gave it that label and have lives even more colorful than the objects they create. The more than 75 sculptures, drawings and paintings by Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination (Gregory Warmack), Charlie Lucas (Tin Man) and Kevin Sampson are part of a new exhibit, “The Roots of the Spirit.”
Although the four men — Warmack is deceased — are known as outsider artists and African American artists, they refer to themselves simply as American artists.
“The works reflect each artist’s vision and ideas about art and why they make art,” said Martha Henry, curator of the “Roots” exhibit. “Is there a commonality? They all use found objects and feel that the found objects came to them. They all feel they are doing something that teaches about the present while preserving the past.”
Henry added, “Mr. Imagination wanted to make people happy. Kevin Sampson’s subjects are about class warfare. Lucas is making art to express the fears and joys and dreams of his neighbors and community. Lonnie feels he is rescuing materials and reintroducing it as sculpture.”
The works also tell a story of the artists’ ancestry. For Holley and Lucas, who live in the Deep South, there is a “Southern vernacular,” Henry said. Born in the mid-20th century, the men came of age during the civil rights movement, and faced racial strife and discrimination. Sampson has created shrines to deceased friends and relatives; Holley and Mr. Imagination have made “ancestor thrones;” and Lucas’ metal sculptures honor his grandparents through their materials and methods.
“This is a type of art that is much more prevalent in the South and in New York and Chicago,” said Henry, whose co-curator on the exhibit is Robert Poplack. “This is exciting to have a West Coast debut.”
The exhibition sees the foursome’s work reunited for the first time since a controversial 2011 Venice Biennale showing that happened despite having their invitation to represent the American Folk Art Museum within the framework of the international art world suddenly rescinded. With the help of Henry, the four secured a venue in Venice in an 11th century garden. Some of the works shown in “The Roots of the Spirit” exhibit were created while in Venice.
Holley, who recently expanded his art to include music and recording, will create a site-specific piece made from materials found on the university grounds.
“As boundaries break down between self-taught and formally educated artists,” says Henry, “I felt it important to celebrate the achievements of these four who emerged from the depths of personal despair to make valuable contributions to the American visual experience.”
Julian Guthrie is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jguthrie@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JulianGuthrieIf you go
The Roots of the Spirit: Opens Friday; reception 2-5 p.m. Sunday. Through Nov. 26. Noon-4 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Notre Dame de Namur University’s Wiegand Gallery, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont. (650) 508-3595. www.ndnu.edu/arts-events/wiegand-gallery.
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8/29/14
"The Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas and Kevin Sampson: Four self-taught American artists invited — and later controversially disinvited — to take part in the 2011 Venice Biennale show together for the first time on the West Coast
My Drawing in the San Franciso Chronicle
Fall Arts Preview: Visual art
Kenneth Baker is The San Francisco Chronicle’s art critic
"The Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas and Kevin Sampson: Four self-taught American artists invited — and later controversially disinvited — to take part in the 2011 Venice Biennale show together for the first time on the West Coast. Sept. 19-Nov. 26. Wiegand Gallery, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont. (650) 508-3595, www. wiegandgallery.org.
By Kenneth Baker."
http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Fall-Arts-Preview-Visual-art-5691423.php
Fall Arts Preview: Visual art
Kenneth Baker is The San Francisco Chronicle’s art critic
"The Roots of the Spirit: Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas and Kevin Sampson: Four self-taught American artists invited — and later controversially disinvited — to take part in the 2011 Venice Biennale show together for the first time on the West Coast. Sept. 19-Nov. 26. Wiegand Gallery, Notre Dame de Namur University, 1500 Ralston Ave., Belmont. (650) 508-3595, www. wiegandgallery.org.
By Kenneth Baker."
http://www.sfgate.com/art/article/Fall-Arts-Preview-Visual-art-5691423.php
6/18/11
invite to my current show in Venice «The Roots of the Spirit»Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas, and Kevin Sampson
R E – E V O L U T I O N
Zattere, Dorsoduro 49, Venezia
You are invited Sunday, June 5, 2011, 5 to 8 pm
to the opening of an exhibition by American artists:
«The Roots of the Spirit»
On view from June 5 to July 31, 2011, organized to coincide with the
54th edition of the Venice Biennale
Lonnie Holley, Mr. Imagination, Charlie Lucas, and Kevin Sampson are renowned as self-taught American artists but refer to themselves as simply American artists.
The exhibition, «The Roots of the Spirit», on view in Venice at L’Espace Re-Evolution from June 5 to July 31, 2011, presents four African American artists who have integrated their experiences in Venice, once the crossroads of the world, with the city’s own encounters with Europe, Asia, Africa, and America. Their artworks express both their African and American culture, their everyday lives, their dreams, and their aspirations.
L’Espace Re-Evolution, an 11th-century garden completely unknown to the public located on the Zattere on Dorsoduro, is one of the most beautiful spaces in Venice. In less than one week and working only with materials found on the Venice streets and in the canals, the four artists created nearly 50 site-specific works that reflect the spirit of this special site. Lonnie Holley combined sculptures with paintings that read as a diary of his sojourn. The ghostly appearance of Mr. Imagination’s silver wire mesh dress and shoes alludes to the garden’s secret past. Charlie Lucas painted two works on bedsheets that are, consistent with his philosophy of art and life. Kevin Sampson created an ephemeral wall installation of grottoes and shrines using seaweed and bones in an attempt to connect the past with the present.
The artists’ work is included in many major American museum collections: American Folk Art Museum, New York; Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; American Visionary Museum, Baltimore, Maryland; Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; and Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago, Illinois, among others.
The artists acknowledge the support of the Ford Foundation.
Contact New York: Martha Henry 011 212 308 2759 mh@marthahenry.com
Vaporetto stop: S. Salute
Photo: Kevin Sampson, U.S.S. Palin, 2010, mixed media
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