Brandeis University

Rose

Art

Museum

January 30-

Tsuya Chinn

March14, 1993

Robert Freeman
Ellen Gallagher

Kofi Kayiga

Cu rated by

Ah John Keys
Edward McCluney
Bryan McFarlane
Cynthia

Hymes

Bell

Carl Belz

Edmund
Susan
L.

Barry Gaither

Stoops

Joseph Norman
Brandeis University

Rose Art Museum

Lawrence Sykes
Cheryl Warrick

U iTi
The Lois Foster Exhibition of Boston Area Artists

Preface and

Acknowledgments
This exhibition
is

sponsored by
Brandeis University's

Rose
Arts

Art iVIuseum,

Office of the

Dean

of

and Sciences,

Office of Student Affairs,

Intercultural Center and the Helmsley

Public Lecture Fund.

1993
Brandeis University
Office of Publications

G 108/500
Text printed on recycled

paper

The Rose

Art

Museum has

for

more
for

Of the many area exhibitions the

We learned while working on the

exhibition that others share
this

Edmund
its

Barry Gaither, Victoria Jones,

than 15 years mounted annually a

museum has
nor have
I

presented, none have

artists,

Florence Ladd, Elma Lewis, Robert

Mitchell, Jacqueline Roundtree and Jay Veevers generously contributed to

group exhibition providing exposure

artists

included African American

concern, but

we

learned also

working

in

the greater Boston

encountered any African

artists in the

obverse, that the pride February

area.

The

exhibitions originate with

of slides that

an

American
the

course of
visits

occasions
in

is in

achievements that are

dialogue and

those discussions, and

am

accordingly

ongoing review

come
a steady

making countless studio

during

no way February bound. Along with

initiating

grateful for everyone's participation.

unsolicited to the
flow,

museum

in

many years

that

have been

the goals of

From
of
in

that group, Cynthia Bell

and Barry

and they are pursued

of the year.

via studio

visits that

are conducted throughout the

The conclusion that the process outlined above did not engage
director here.

generating awareness, the further goal

of joining
itself

Gaither joined Susan Stoops and

me
for

a community's celebration
it

making studio

visits

and selecting the

as well

course
in

The process

results

African

American

artists is frustrating

thus evolved, and

spirit of

is in

the

exhibition,

and

wish to thank them

the selection of six to ten artists

but inescapable.

When

Phyllis
of

plenary

these goals that

we

are

their thoughtful curatorial efforts

whose works comprise one exhibition, the relatively small number intended to allow each artist to show a significant
body
of expressions rather than only

Brown, Assistant Dean

Affairs at

Student

proud

to offer "African
in

American

as

their

boundless good

will in

adjusting

Brandeis and Director of the

Perspectives"
History Month.

conjunction with Black

busy professional calendars

to attend
visits
artists.

University's Intercultural Center,

meetings and make the studio

I

and Cynthia Hymes

of

Bell, Art Director

was

able to schedule with the

one or two examples. Outside of

focusing on one or another medium,
the definition of which
interpreted
in
is

One

Vision, Inc.

in

Boston, proposed

The museum could

accomplished
the assistance of

not have

wish also to thank student intern Stacy

the concept of an African American

exhibition at the
is

this exhibition without

Lefkowitz for providing much-needed

organizational support at various stages
in

loosely

Rose

Art

Museum
I

many

individuals

any case, the process

during 1993 Black History Month,

who
felt

volunteered highly valued advice

with time
prized.

the development of the exhibition

of

guided by no set theme.

We at the
believe
in

Curator Susan Stoops and

thus

and encouragement along and energy

that

and especially during the preparation

this catalog. Finally,
I

museum
hope
that

naturally

and

fully

we were

being offered an opportunity

were equally

am

indebted to

the quality of the work shown, and

we

to alter this pattern,

broaden our
artists

An advisory committee was

at the

established

the artists

for their positive interest in

each exhibition projects a

to provide

process of relating to

and

at the outset of the project to

counsel
its

the exhibition, for sharing with us the

coherent look, but an equally important

same
of

time gain and provide awareness

of the artistic
in

on

its

parameters and heighten

works

that are

its

abundant contents and

and underlying concern

support and
visibility for

is

a wider range

visibility

throughout the Boston area

for providing this opportunity for

the region's
enterprise

perspectives that must be included

and

particularly in the African

American
Jim

Brandeis University's Office of Student

Affairs, Intercultural

community

of artists

whose

any

full

description of Boston's diverse

community. Cynthia
Phyllis

Hymes

Bell,

Center and Rose

we

regard as central to our own.

cultural

landscape.

Brown, Francine

Farr,

Field,

Art

Museum,

the collaborative sponsors

of the exhibition, to

acknowledge

their

Our enthusiasm for the proposal was initially edged with a concern about
scheduling the exhibition during Black
History Month, as

manifold achievements.

Carl Belz

we wished

to

Henry and Lois Foster Director

gainsay any impression that the

museum's

interest in African

American

artists is identified only with

February.

Laying the Groundwork for African American Perspectives"

Many

of the contributions
artists
all

by African

and Cynthia Hymes

Bell, Art Director,

in

discussions with Carl Belz, Director of

the

expression
public.

is

available to the general

American

before this century

One

Vision, Inc., organized

February

museum, an agreement was

art exhibition at the
in

The

exhibition illustrates the

have been

but lost or unrecognized.

1990 an
opening
Function

exhibition of

Boston area

reached to present an African

African diaspora
traditions.

and African American

Until recently,

knowledge

of their

work

African American artists. Until the

of the exhibition

American

has been missing and sporadic.

"KUUMBA"
Sherman
Brandeis

Museum

Rose Art 1993. A partnership was

(Swahili for creativity) at

created and the tremendous work of

putting together the exhibition "African

Through the assistance

committee comprised
talented, diverse
in

of

an advisory

The past two decades have seen an

unparalleled period of creative growth

Hall,

the exhibition of works

artists at

by African American

American Perspectives" began.

Given the University's heightened

most and creative individuals

of the

and

attention to the
art art

works

of African

had

largely existed

under a

veil of

the Boston area art community, this

American American
a means

and

artists.

African

anonymity and

invisibility.

exhibition,

once a concept, has become

like to

has been established as

commitment

to

promote and enhance

is

reality.

We would

thank those

to educate,

expose and

raise

"KUUMBA" was a tremendous

success. Although the exhibition lasted

diversity,

we

believe the timing

members
ideas.
Art

of the advisory

committee
energy and

the consciousness of the American

public about African

appropriate to bring to Brandeis

the fine works of contemporary African

for their contribution of time,

American culture
historical

a weekend, more than 400 people from

Brandeis and the greater Boston area

We especially thank the

Rose

and experiences from a

American
art is

and

American
area.

artists in

the

New

England
selected

Museum, Helmsley

Public Lecture

contemporary perspective. African

a declaration
of African

viewed the show. The opening

reception

The works have been

and the

Funds, Intercultural Center, the

American self-esteem,

racial pride

and

was attended by more than 100 guests who met and talked with
Each
artist

for their originality

artists'

range

Museum

of the National
Artists,

Center

for Afro-

of technical skills.

Our goals

for this

American

Brandeis Black

vernacular culture. Enriched by

traditions

the artists exhibited.

had an

exhibition are: to increase

Student Organization and the Office of

the President for supporting our idea.

as diverse as abstraction,

opportunity to discuss briefly his or her

understanding of African American

culture; to

realism, cubism, expressionism

and

work with the audience. "KUUMBA"

educate people about the

contemporary color theories, African

was a
history

lesson

in

African American

history of African Americans;

to

and

Cynthia

American

artists'

creative visions

and

fine art.

The works

assure that a diversity

of African

Art Director,

Hymes Bell One Vision,

Inc.

capture the essence of the

condition.

human

exhibited illustrated

how

art nurtures

American heritage and

cultural

and preserves African American

tradition, culture,

Phyllis C.

values and struggles.

laid

Assistant

Brown Dean of Student

Center

Affairs

Considering the

vacuum

of

knowledge

The success
American
catalog
is

of

"KUUMBA"

the

and

Intercultural

regarding art by African American

artists, Phyllis

foundation for the 1993 African

art exhibition for

Director, Brandeis University

this

C. Brown, Assistant

which

Dean

of

Student Affairs at Brandeis,

published.

Inspired by the success of this show,

we

immediately began work on a

proposal for a collaborative effort with

Brandeis University's Rose Art

Museum.

After two years of

Like a crystal prism, "African

American

anthropologist Melville
scientifically

J.

Herskovits

Perspectives" radiates a
iridescent light into the

welcome shaded

proved the retention and

Numbering a few more than in previous Rose Art Museum annual exhibitions,
the artists
well
in

adaptation of African visual art

traditions in the

"Perspectives" are mostly

Eurocentric recesses of American art

New World

diaspora.

museums. The
"African
it

crystalline quality of

Herskovits's enlarged,
definition of African

empowering
art

seasoned professionals whose works take on fresh vitality in proximity

with

American Perspectives" makes

American

and
of

work by

gifted

emerging and midceramist, draftsman,

stand out

among

the latest

in

identity literally underlies the

work

career

artists.

The

the recent, worldwide spate of culturally

corrective exhibitions.
crystals
in their birth

"Perspectives" artists Kofi Kayiga,

sculptor, printmaker, assemblagist

and

Analogous

to

Ah John Keys, Bryan McFarlane and

Lawrence Sykes and indirectly that of Tsuya Chinn, Robert Freeman, Ellen Gallagher, Edward McCluney, Joseph Norman and Cheryl Warrick.
Cultural identification as African

painters represented here are

young

from portentous

historic pressure, culturally inclusive

art exhibitions

and mature, men and women. They are masters of their medium and message,
imbuing
their

have

ineffably catalyzed

work with

stylistic

visual genius into the sociopolitical

originality, intellectual rigor, technical

healing so long desired by cultural

minorities
in

mastery and monumentality. Excepting

the postcolonial Western

Joseph Norman and Edward

McCluney, these are
all

world. Future exhibitions of the

artistic integrity

same

Americans, the

first
is

organizing criterion
selectively

sophisticated,

as "African American

of this exhibition,

mainstream

abstractionists. Yet,
in

Perspectives" might thus be used

Insights to "African

represented by Southern migrants and

African, Antillean

paradoxically African American,

even

as guideposts
racist

in

the eradication of the

and South American

the most nonrepresentational forms

American Perspectives"

ignorance continuing to blight

immigrants comprising the major black

subcultures
in

and the most

spiritual

idiosyncratic palettes,

America's horizons.

the Boston locale.

is

the artists are recording a universally

African American self-identification

It

conversation

initiated
title.

is

historically significant that "African

as much

if

not

more than

for other

irrevocably with the viewer by a

American Perspectives" has been

organized by a traditionally Jewish

American
validating

artists

an individuating,
point of

and evolutionary

Through the Rain, the

a case

title

of

Tsuya
Chinn's

American

university.

Although

this is

reference not necessarily recognizable

Chinn's baked clay circular sculpture,

is

Brandeis University's
African American art

third exhibition of

by subject matter or technique. That

disparate subcultural backgrounds and
individual experiences

in point. Intentionally,

and

its

second
in

lyrical title

implants

in

the mind's
natural
rain

formal presentation of black artists

the

eye an association between

Rose

Art

Museum,

there

is

a long,

kaleidoscopically color the work of

African American artists
this exhibition's title
is

phenomena and

her

art,

between

checkered history
identification

of cross-cultural

signaled by

and her primal whorl, her translucent

turquoise blue glaze and her

and collaboration between

the 1930s, 1940s and

and cogently
10

Jewish Americans and African

Americans.
In

articulated by the stylistic originality of

Japanese craquelure.
and emotive, and the
of Africa
is

Clay, primordial

each

of the exhibition's

artists.

an

ideal

medium

for

1950s, for example, Jewish American

Curatorial choice of artworks of African

Chinn's dictations from nature

latent,

and African American subjects such as Dahomey and Toni Morrison

nevertheless subtly reveals the cultural
identity of

nonverbalized presence

and Asia.

some

of the artists.

Like Chinn, Robert

of art

Freeman conceives
Freeman's

of African

American stereotypes from

African religion.

In this

painting

and

as a

spiritual vessel.

the entertainment industry and

their

others of the series, McFarlane

in

Manhattan Transfer by photographer Lawrence Sykes is a neo-surrealistic

wall

paintings

assume

this spiritual function

present-day reappearance

constructs a sacred space of thick

assemblage.

It

is

witty play

on
a

on many
explicit,

interpretive levels

and make and

mass media.
Kofi Kayiga's

impasto and
in

thin,

scratched paint
spirit

words and images

critical

of

New

York

City,

hybrid reference to the

much

the

same

as an African

crossroads of African American

traditions of

Western

literature

Queen on High veritably

that of

sculpture's patina

and with profound

identity, history,

commerce, science,

African

art. In

the paintings from the

/

throbs with an intensity of color and

understanding of the transcendent

music and transportation. Manhattan

Transfer distills feelings and

series entitled

Armed Myself with

poem "The

shamanistic

line, rivaling

correspondence between the

real subject,
its

10,000 Shields and Spears, Freeman

loosely translates the

the European
artists of

Fauve and Blaue Reiter

painted interpretation,

observations from Sykes's extensive

travel through Africa

the early 20th century.

the

artist

and the viewer.

like

and the African

Angel" by William Blake and invokes

the
spiritual

Kayiga's watercolor background

overlaid by a pastel screen of abstract

diaspora.

power

of the ritual of

Cheryl Warrick's paintings, McFarlane's, are

Bryan

ancestor worship and divination of the

design

is

small

in

size but mysteriously

riveting visual

Edward McCluney and Joseph Norman

are draftsmen and printmakers of the
first

built with paint.

Yoruba peoples

of Nigeria,

West

Africa.

commodious. The
of Kayiga's

impact

The nonrepresentational imagery

of her

He
the

is

thus consciously drawing upon

African verbal/visual tradition
British visionary's

work derives from

syncratism. His

his

work

order

in

the genre of portraiture.

is

mystically constructed

West

Jamaican

heritage, African sojourns

from an inner technical logic

They

are, therefore, rather special, for

is

not every artist

to retell

a famous

and

spiritual

and a self-generated and

reverent.

able to render

faithfully

narrative toward

the eyes, soul and personality of a

sitter.

story of struggle

between good

shamanistic approach to artmaking

involves going into a trancelike state,
creating

which Warrick remains deferential

and

evil,

youth and old age. As an

artist.

The

individual styles of

McCluney

established, well-traveled

many works

simultaneously,

Freeman

is

also

aware

of the African

using a personal lingua franca

of color

Ah John Keys
titles

and Norman convey the resilience of humanity. For McCluney this is often
is

a sculptor on esthetic
a likeness
of

brilliant

African American

spiritual force

accruing to the paintings

symbolism and divining

par with African American Mel

through repetition of forms

like

of invocation.

Edwards. Keys recycles cast-off metals

such as novelist Toni Morrison.

For Norman, anonymous,
confrontational blacks, as
in

the hands and spears within the

composition, the multiplication of

picture planes into a polyptych
ritual of

The

art of

Bryan McFarlane, another

artist,

and the

Jamaican-born professional
confirms that painting
is

public exhibition.

his religion.

McFarlane paints transcontinental

Literary reference

own experiences of travel to Africa. He pays homage to his African heritage in Dahomey, a West African country now called Benin, where Haitians and some New World African
with his

Patty's Little

White

Lies, stare out in pain

at being

and
trust

anger

denied the
whites.

same

and respect as
Francine Farr

and formal
an
untitled

repetition

religious subjects via his

Jamaican

metal

artists

can trace

their roots.
in

are seen again

in

mixed
artist

Maroon
is

heritage. His Interior for

Yansa

Dahomey
field

figured prominently
J.

the

Associate Curator

media painting by precocious

use
of

exemplary: a masterpiece of

research of Melville
it

Herskovits

The Museum

of the National
Artists

Center

for

Ellen Gallagher. Gallagher's incisive

painterly expressionism of Brazilian

to

and

continues to be a religious

these elements

is

comparable

pilgrimage place for

Africans.

many New World

in

Afro-American

the work of Adrian Piper.

ruled,

On

wide-

The double gong

still

Keys's

elementary school paper,

literally

Dahomey is
puts

used
in

ritually to

summon
in

Gallagher repeatedly and

ancestral spirits

Benin and appears

pedestal

down
eyes

the stereotypical big lips

of the black minstrel.

and bug
is

painted upside

down as a

Her work

McFarlane's

Interior for

Yansa.

a wry critique of the source and tragedy

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1991

1992

Babson College, Wellesley,

Cousen Rose

Gallery,

1985 Massachusetts College

Boston,

of Art,

MA
1990

Martha's Vineyard,

MA MA MA

MA

Rossinour Designs,
Martha's Vineyard,
of the National

1984
Harriet

The Museum
Center
Artists,

Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe

College, Cambridge,

Tubman

Gallery,

for

Afro-American

United South End

Settlements, Boston,

Boston,

MA

Cambridge Multi-Cultural Center, Cambridge, MA

MA

1983
Gallery 355, Boston,

MA

1991

Kaji

1983 Aso Studio,

Kaji

Aso

Renaissance Gallery,
Boston,

School, Boston,

MA

MA
1982

M&M

Images, Martha's

Vineyard,

MA

Gutman

Library,

Copley Society, Boston, MA Park School, Brookline, MA

University,

Harvard Cambridge, MA

1989
Boston Public
Boston,
Library,

MA

Tsuya Chinn

Attended the Massachusetts College

of Art, Boston, from 1978-80,

Much

of

my

inspiration
in

comes from

through to touch these places, these

The

circle recalls

many symbolic
eternity,

Nature:

moments

time, seasons,

moments, and then give them back. A

total

meanings:
rebirth,

fertility,

death and
in

the Kaji

Aso School

of Art, Boston,

feelings,
Spirit.

glimpses of the inner

quest that

embrace.

seasons, cycles of going

out. Circles

from 1980-84 and the School

of the

my voice be

clear

and coming

have a

primal,

Museum

of Fine Arts, Boston,

and simple.
want the viewer
to

from 1984-85.
I

The works shown in this exhibition are inspired by themes that have absorbed
be able
to enter

evocative quality.

The work here

on a journey
is still

records that

am

of

my

attention for the last

two years.

In

discovery and that there

so much

that

moment
have

with me,
their

and

at the

same

some ways,

the works reveal

my
"rite of

more

to explore.

time, to

moment. A

silver

innermost thoughts about the

passage." They document the
unfolding of

wind, a

moon

filled night.

A whisper. A

reaching of the heart.

my thoughts and

feelings.

remind myself

am

the instrument, a

The

paintings
in

and the ceramic work

the

tool,

a vessel that the work

may come

share roots

same themes. Both

are concerned with discovering

the
light in

the darkness and bringing

light.

the darkness to

Through the Rain

1992
Ceramic

20 inches diameter
Collection the artist

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1992
North of Rome, Wendell
Street Gallery, Cambridge,

1986

1989
Blues:

Aegean Aegean

Summer, Clark

Selections: Six Contemporary

Gallery, Lincoln,

MA

African-American
Williams College
Art,

Artists,

1986 Boston Collects: Contemporary Painting and

Sculpture,

MA
1990
Clark Gallery, Lincoln,

Blues: Winter,

Museum

of

Museum

of Fine

Wendell Street Gallery, Cambridge, MA

Williamstown,

MA

Arts, Boston,

MA

MA
1983
Clark Gallery, Lincoln,

1988
Faculty Exhibition, Carpenter

1978
Guild Hall Art

Museum, East

1989
Gallery,

MA

Center

for the Visual Arts,

Hampton,

NY

New Paintings, June Kelly New York, NY

Isobel Neal Gallery,
IL

Wendell Street Gallery, Cambridge, MA

The

Chicago,

1982 Addison Gallery

Art,

Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Massachusetts Masters: AfroAmerican Artists, Museum of

Fine Arts, Boston,

1972
Boston University, Boston,

MA

of

American

MA MA

1987

Andover,

MA

Spring Thaw, Cambridge Art

Association, Cambridge,

Summer in
Gallery,

the South of

France, Wendell Street

1981

Cambridge,

MA

Museum
Center
Artists,

of the National

for

Afro-American

Boston,

MA

Robert Freeman

Received a B.F.A. from Boston

University, Boston, in 1971,

The new

paintings are inspired by the

Loss

of

innocence has always been a

"The Angel" was given to

painter,

me
I

by a

and an

writings of William Blake

and the

Ifa,

dominant theme
I

M.F.A. from Boston University,

West

African system of spirituality

spent

my figurative work. many years of my childhood

in

Bruce Herman,

to

encourage

my
like

return to painting

Boston,

in

1981.

that includes divination

and ancestor
visits to

in

Ghana, West

Africa,

and while
around me,
to explore

distracted by job security.

worship. Blake's poem, "The Angel,"

African religions
I

were

all

the poem, that

when was being He felt, was arming myself

rather than

imagines
the poet

spirits

paying daily

have chosen only recently

in

with "security of

life"

until

she arms herself with

and incorporate them

I

my

paintings.

pursuing "my heart's delight." These

paintings are a personal visualization
of Blake's to

10,000 shields and spears, causing the

spirits to flee.

make no

attempt here to

illustrate

deities or explain

how

certain deities

poem and a

thank you

operate within the culture. The

paintings are an abstraction of the idea
that the spirit world surrounds us

Bruce Herman.

and can be summoned by our

However,

call

if

we

are of a sincere and innocent nature.

if

we

are distracted by

material wealth

and possessions,

it

can

result in the loss of spiritual help.

"I

Armed My Fears with 10,000 Shields and Spears," W. Blake

1992
Oil

on canvas

Five panels,

60 X 46 inches each

(detail)

Courtesy Clark Gallery

The Angel
dreamt a Dream! what can mean? And that was a maiden Queen: Guarded by an Angel mild; Witless woe, was ne'er beguil'd!
I

it

And wept both night and day And he wip'd my tears away And wept both day and night And hid from him my heart's delight.
I

So he took his wings and fled: Then the morn blush'd rosy red:
I

dried

my tears &

arm'd

my fears,

With ten thousand shields and spears.

Soon my Angel came again: was arm'd, he came in vain: For the time of youth was fled
I

And grey

hairs

were on my head.

William Blake

from Songs of Experience (1794)

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1992
Akin Gallery, Boston,

1992

1989
Ellen Gallagher/A.D. Reid,

MA

Salon, Akin Gallery,

Boston,

MA

The Dark Room,

Cambridge,

Autopia, Akin Gallery,

MA

Boston
1991

MA
Museum
1988 Across the Boards, School of the Museum
Fine Arts, Boston,
of

Safe, School of the

of Fine Arts,
Boit,

of

Boston,

MA

MA

School of the

Museum

Fine Arts, Boston,

MA

1990 October Show, School

of the

Museum

of Fine Arts,

Boston,

MA

Ellen Gallagher

Attended Oberlin College, Oberlin,

"It

was,

in short,

a centre of coloured

whenever he responded
to 'do something,'

to

a request

OH, from 1982-84, and received her diploma from the School
of the
in

Museum

of Fine Arts, Boston,

1992.

Bohemians and sports. Here the great prize-fighters were wont to come, the famous jockeys, the noted minstrels, whose names and faces were familiar
on every
I

never essayed

anything below a reading from

Shakspere
me; and
heard

(sic).

How

well

he read

do

not know, but he greatly impressed

I

bill-board in the country....

can say

that at least

he had a

often heard the

younger and brighter

voice which strangely stirred those

it.

who

men

discussing the time

when they
to recognize

Here was a man who made

at the size of his
in his

would compel the public

that they could

people laugh

mouth,

do something

while he carried

heart a burning

more than

grin

and cut pigeon-wings.

of the visiting

ambition to be a tragedian; and so

after
all

he did play a part

in

a tragedy."

"Sometimes one or two

sufficiently urged,

stage-professionals, after being

James Weldon Johnson,

Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured
(1912)

would go

into the

Man

back room and take the places

regular

of the

amateur

entertainers....

There was one man, a

minstrel,

who,

Untitled

P^P^^'

1992
Oil

and paper on canvas

20 X 20 inches
as^
=?<=5e=-3f

Courtesy Akin Gallery

s^^;-:?
<^-=--^ ^ r_r> ^'.-jr^

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SrS^

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Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1991

1984
Gallery,

1991
of the National

AAMARP
Boston,

The Museum
Center
Artists,

Cavin Morris Gallery,

Northeastern University,

for

Afro-American

New

York,

NY

MA

Boston,

MA

Bromfield Gallery, Boston,

Virginia

MA

1990

Museum of African American Life & Culture, Dallas, TX

1989

1979 Mercer Arts Salon,

Museum Richmond, VA
1990 Milwaukee
High

of Fine Arts,

New York, NY
1975 Olympia

Art

Museum,
of Art,

Milwaukee, Wl
International Art

Frame Centre Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica

1988 Mante Contemporary
London, England

Museum

Center, Kingston, Jamaica

Atlanta,

GA

1971
Arts,

1989
Gallery,

Nomo

Kampala,

Black Art: Ancestral Legacy,

Dallas
Dallas,

Uganda
1967

Museum TX

of Art,

1987
Gallery Light Center,
Brookline,

MA

The Contemporary Art Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica

1988
Institute of

Contemporary

Art,

Boston,

MA

Kofi Kayiga

Massachusetts Masters: AfroAmerican Artists, Museum of

Received his diploma

in

1966 from

My

art is

a contemplation within a

the Jamaica School of Art, Kingston,

meditation. ..a journey within

unknown

Jamaica, and his M.F.A. from the

Royal College of
England,
in

spaces. ..a quest for a wisdom beyond

Art,

London,
in

tomorrow
while
it

that lingers

in

yesterday

1971.

He also conducted
African

speaks a timeless today.

are conversations with primal

postgraduate research
University, Kampala,

traditional religions at the

Makerere Uganda,

My works
energies

primordial archetypes
children, half

from 1971-73.

mythic images that dance and

play

games as
and
half

on the

planet

beyond. They

are as dreamers
of soul,

awake

in

a world

a consciousness transforming

pigments, matter and molecules to

color, light

and

life.

Fine Arts, Boston,

MA
Bank
Art

Art Explosion, World

Society, Washington,

DC
Queen on High

1984
Fifty

Years of Jamaican
Institution,

Art,

Smithsonian

Washington,

DC
1992
Mixed media on paper
Ltd.,

1977
Royal Bank of Jamaica
Kingston, Jamaica

7V2 X 5V2 inches

Collection the artist

1976 Caribbean ArtistsContemporary Twelve, Gallery Barrington, Kingston, Jamaica

1971
Artists in Britain,

Contemporary Caribbean Sussex University, Sussex, England

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1986
Searching Through the
Riddle,

1992

New
of

The Museum
Artists,

of the

England School Art and Design Gallery,

1989 Contemporary Boston AfroAmerican Artists, Copley

Society, Boston,

National Center for Afro-

Boston,

MA MA

MA
Cambridge

American

Boston,

MA

Kaleidoscope, Thayer Gallery,

African Rhythms,

Thayer Academy,
Braintree,

Multi-Cultural Arts Center,

Cambridge,

MA

1991

1988

Seven by Seven: Art and

Spirit, Artists

The Museum
Center
Artists,

of the National

Foundation

for

Afro-American

Gallery, Boston,

MA

Boston,

MA

1990

1986
Gallery,

AAMARP
Boston,

Black Artists of Rhode

Island,

Northeastern University,

MA

Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, Rl

Ah John Keys
My work seeks to
was a

Studied painting at the Art

Association of Newport,
Rl,

offer

an

afterlife for

from

this

experience

positive

now the

objects that are found discarded.

I

attitude

about resourcefulness and

I

Newport Art l\/luseum, between 1956 and 1966, and pursued advanced
worl< at the Silvermine College of Art
in

am

concerned with synthesizing these

elements from vastly
to build
differing

visual

human creativity. am experiencing a new freedom now that am sure will

I

sources

new

structures that

be seen

in

future works.

New Canaan,

CT, from 1968-70.

transcend
This

their individual

components.
elements

new image

of collected

guides the participant toward

insights into the interconnectedness of

energies and worlds.

More than the

collected objects
I

and

photographs that

brought from West

I

Africa, the greatest thing that

received

Dahomey

1988
Mixed media
18 X 18 x2V4 inches
Collection the artist

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1992
Fitchburg State College,
Fitchburg,

1980
Upstairs Gallery, Topsfield,

1992

New

England School

of Art

1987 Massachusetts College

Boston,

of Art,

MA

MA
1976

1991

The Museum
Center
Artists,

of the National

Gallery of Contemporary Art,

Brookline,

for

Afro-American

MA

and Design, Boston, MA Wendell Street Gallery Salutes Massachusetts Masters, Wendell Street Gallery, Cambridge, MA
1990 Newport

MA

1985 Hanover Fine

Hanover,

Arts,

MA MA

Boston,

MA
1975 Roten Gallery, Baltimore, MD Harvard University Print Gallery, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Massachusetts College of Art,
Boston,

1976
Art

1988 Wendell Street Gallery, Cambridge, MA

Museum,

Nusruden, Boston,

Newport, Rl
Alpert Gallery, Boston,

MA

1974
Gallery of World Art,
Brookline,

The Museum
Center
Artists,

of the National

1987 The Museum

Center
Artists,

for

Afro-American

MA

of the National

MA

Boston,

MA
1970
Norfolk
Norfolk,

for

Afro-American

Boston,

MA

1973 Elma Lewis Center for AfroAmerican Art, Boston, MA

1988 Massachusetts Masters: AfroAmerican Artists, Museum of

Fine Arts, Boston,

Museum

of Fine Arts,

VA

Impressions Gallery,
Boston,

MA

MA

Edward McCluney

Earned a B.F.A.

in

Art Education

The

portfolio,

Nine American Masters,

They are
their

all

black Americans, but

limited

at Virginia State College,

consists of 10 large-format linoleum

prints.

accomplishments are not

cultural group.

Norfolk, VA, in 1965,

In

and an M.F.A.

The

prints are portraits of

artists,

to
feel,

any ethnic or

printmaking at the University

nine 20th-century

who,

Their contributions

command

praise

of Massachusetts, Amherst, in 1969.

have distinguished themselves

as timeless masters
of arts

wortdwide, and they truly belong

letters.

and

to the international creative history

of

The
is

10th image
portrait of

in

the portfolio

our time.

Edmund

Barry Gaither,

curator for the project.

For their extraordinary

creativity,

imagination, innovative styles, technical

skills,

appreciation of

self,

tenacity
I

and

perhaps

just plain genius,

have
people

chosen these nine

truly gifted

who have contributed human condition.

to brightening the

Toni Morrison

1991
Charcoal on paper

27 X 40 inches
Collection the artist

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1990
Canizares Gallery, Bahia,
Brazil

1991
Philadelphia
of

1982

Museum

Boston
Boston,

Now

10,
Art,

Faculty Exhibition,

Harriet

Tubman

Gallery,

Afro-American History,

Institute of

Contemporary

Visions

and Inspirations from

Philadelphia,

PA

MA

Bahia, Wendell Street Gallery,

Cantor Art Center, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

United South End

Settlements, Boston,

MA

Cambridge,

MA

Gallery, Kingston,

and Pegasus Jamaica

1985

AAMARP
Boston,

Gallery,

Northeastern University,

1988

MA

The

Isobel Neal Gallery,

IL

Chicago,

1984

1987

Memory Scapes, The Museum of the National

Institute,

1989 The Wyndham Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica Japan Institute of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan Bryan McFarlane/Doug
Anderson/Marcia Lloyd,
Fuller

1981

1985
Art of the State, Federal

Emerson College, Boston,

1980
Mutual
Life

MA

Reserve Bank Gallery,

Boston,

MA

Center Gallery,

Kingston, Jamaicai

1984
Social Concerns of the
Eighties,

Commonwealth

Center
Artists,

for

Afro-American

Museum

of Art, Brockton,

MA

Boston University Art

1978 Olympia

International Art

London, England

Boston,

MA
1988 Massachusetts Masters: AfroAmerican Artists, Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston,

Gallery, Boston,

MA

Center, Kingston, Jamaica

DuSable Museum,
Chicago,
IL

1983 Lament

1983

Gallery, Harvard

Thompson
Boston,

Gallery,
of Art,

1975 Four Jamaican

Ontario,

Artists,
Art,

University,

Cambridge,

MA

MA

Massachusetts College

Ontario College of

MA

Canada

1978

Bryan McFarlane

Bolivar Gallery, Kingston,

Jamaica

Received his diploma from the Jamaica School of Fine Art, Kingston, Jamaica, and his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from the Massachusetts
College of Art, Boston.

It

is difficult
I

to write

about a painting

12th-century church interiors

in

the

vital

that

feel

transcends text and contains

medieval town of Cazal

France.

in

Southwest
is

practice called the

and dominating force in the "Candomble" rituals

visual

metaphors rooted deeply

The aura

of the painting

that incorporate herbal medicine for

in historical

and metaphysical content.

constantly about awe, glory and

healing and that coexist with

modern

Interior for

Yansa portrays an

mysticism, which

we cannot

actually

medical technology. Yansa also

archetypal architectural interior that

includes fragments of stained glass,
pillows,
like

touch with our naked hands, but which

embodies powerful aspects

of cultural

we

experience within the architecture

arches and elusive passages,

of our

own

body, soul and

spirit.

and ancestral reclamation within the African diaspora. have therefore

I

taking a look into the

womb of
me

God.

set her as a visual icon

in

the center of

The fragments represent images and

recollections that remain with
living in

What

particularly
in

obsessed
is

me

about
of

the composition,
architectural

commanding an
that

after

the spaces

Brazil

that

many

space

has absorbed

Northeast Brazil (Bahia) for

them were
craftsmen

built

by

skilled

West

African

Judaic, Christian, Islamic, African

and

a substantial period and from observing

who were

forcibly

taken to

American
history
to

Indian forces that throughout

the Americas for slave labor.

attracted

They also

have persistently merged

me because
of Healing,"

Yansa, "Bird
is

produce regeneration and healing.

Goddess
in

a central image

these churches. Yansa continues as

Interior for

Yansa

1992
Oil

on canvas

74 X 112 inches
Collection the artist

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1992
Art Chicago International,

1991

Hugh-Cavanaugh
Providence, Rl

Gallery,

1992 Warwick Museum, Wanwick,

Rl

Hamngton

Galleries,

Providence College,

Vancouver, BC Virginia Lynch Gallery,

Tiverton, Rl

1991

1989
University of

Cardinal Fine Art Centre,

Museum
Rhode

of Art,

Rhode

Island,

Vancouver,

BC

Island School of

Kingston, Rl

Design, Providence, Rl

The Museum
Center
Artists,

of the National

1990
Directions:

Museo de

Art,

San Jose,

for

Afro-American

A frican-American
Rl

Costa Rica

Boston,

MA

Art Now, Newport Art

Museum, Newport,
1988
DeBlois Street Gallery,

Newport, Rl

Joseph Norman

of Illinois,

Earned an M.A. at the University Champaigne/Urbana, IL, in 1985 and an M.F.A. at the University of Cincinnati, OH, in 1986.

Wherever am
I

living,

am

a Chicago

artist.

My work

is

universal

about humanity,
and very simple.
is critical.

something very

direct

Universality of the subject

My universality is me, my experiences, my memoirs, my Chicago diaries.

The persistence
cactus planted
still

of

my

urban

negates geographical transposition.

in

memory A
is

a bed

of daffodils

a very prickly thing

surrounded by
urban core

beauty.

The cactus

is

my

and
all

so, the city informs

and transforms

of

my work.
a Chicago
artist.

am

1989
Line or Image, Newport
Art

Museum, Newport,

Rl

Six Print Mal<ers,

Bannister Gallery,

Rhode

Island College,

Patty's Little White Lies

Providence, Rl

1988

Rhode Island Collects Two Decades of Rhode Island Art, Newport Art Museum,
Newport, Rl

1986
Lithograph

30 X 22 inches
Collection the artist

c/5

,:

o
CL

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1989
St.

992
of Art, Brockton,

984

Olaf College, Northfield,

Ancestral Visions, Fuller

Inter-American University,

MA
1978
Middle Tennessee University,
Murfreesboro,

Museum
1991

MA

Puerto Rico

1979
Life

TN

Annual Atlanta Show, Atlanta, GA

1

1th

William Grant

Still

Cultural

Arts Center, Los Angeles,

CA

1990
Directions: African

American
Art

Art

Now, Newport
Vision,

Museum, Newport,
World
Athens,

Rl

Ohio University,

OH

1988

Museo de

Arte

Moderna da

Bahia, Brazil

Lawrence Sykes

Received his B.S. from

art
l\/lorgan

in art

education

Ultimately this thing called a/f

is

about

what remains
is

an evidence."
teacher,

If

Guston
the

State College,

making marks and consciously leaving

evidence.
It,

correct, then getting there

is a//

Baltimore, MD, in 1955, his M.S. in

art,

embodies elements
in

fun.

Another

brilliant

Romare

education from the Pratt

Brooklyn, NY,
in

of athleticism

intimidation,

Bearden, informs us on the

the
of

integrity

Institute,

1957, and

compulsiveness and competition

ways. Art making
primal
in its

working from our own esthetic

"I

also participated

In the Advanced Workshop at the George Eastman House, Rochester,

most demanding, exhilarating and

liberating
is

core/reality:

work out
of the

of

a response
of

Studies

birthing

and need

to redefine the

image

process
spirit

fusion of mind,

man
I

in

terms
best."

Negro experience

NY,

in

1967.

and

reflex.

Compound these
in

know

Wow!

factors with the historic responsibilities

an

artist
If

takes to the cutting edge

1993.

these notions are

verifiable,

an

artist is

a manic-compulsive
a long distance runner
trail-leaving

exhibitionist,

with

a Hansel and Gretel

mentality.

One

of

my
it

teachers, Philip

Guston, phrased

quite eloquently:
is

"What

is

seen and called the picture

Manhattan Transfer

1992
Mixed media

29 X 23 inches
Collection the artist

Solo Exhibitions

Selected Group Exhibitions

1992
Gallery

1992

1990

NAGA,

Boston,

MA

Mother/Artist:
Its

Motherhood and

In the Spirit,

Howard Yezerski

Towne

Art Gallery,

Wheelock

Influences, Jefferson

Gallery, Boston,

MA

College, Boston,

MA

Cutter House, Arlington,

MA

Present Tense,
1991
Gallery

UWM Gallery,

The Evolving Image, Newton Arts Center and Gallery,

Newton,

University of Wisconsin at

MA

NAGA,

Boston,

MA

Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wl
1991

1988
Lillian

Immig Gallery,
College, Boston,

Emmanuel

12th Annual Boston Drawing Show, Boston Center for the

Arts, Boston,

1989 Above, Beyond and Within, Boston Center for the Arts,
Boston,

MA

MA

MA
Art

Seven by Seven:
Artists

&

Spirit,

Contemporary Women Artists, Bank of Boston, Boston, MA

Foundation Gallery,

Boston,

MA

David Palmer/Cheryl Warrick: Works on Paper and Canvas,

Gallery

NAGA,

Boston,

MA

Cheryl Warrick

Received an A.D. from Rhode Island

"Look and you

will find
will

it,

Through a process
of the painting,

of layering images,

Community College

in

1977,

what

is

unsought

go undetected."

then washing and sanding the surface

and a B.F.A. from the Massachusetts

College of Art, Boston,
in

Sophocles
believe that art
to

a visual dialogue

1988.
I

evolves between layers. The viewer

is

a powerful

tool that

is

invited to travel through veils

can propel us

ask questions

of
art

of color

and implied space

to ponder,

ourselves and our culture. Through

remember and wonder.

we have
greater

the

ability to

educate as well

as inspire meaningful introspection and

human awareness.
truth

It

provides

a bridge to discover

and perhaps
to reality.

uncover a deeper meaning

In
I

my paintings and works on am exploring intuitive and

paper

subconscious forms and shapes.

1988
Art of Giving, Liz Harris
Gallery, Boston, IVIA
All

School Show, Massachusetts College

of Art,

Boston,

MA

Secret

1987
Collected Visions,

Cambridge
Cambridge,

Art Association,

1992
Acrylic

MA

and mixed media on

canvas
1986
Painting

and Sculpture,
for the Arts,

46 X 40 inches
Collection Don and Jeanne Stanton

Boston Center
Boston,

MA
Gallery,
of Art,

Thompson
Boston,

Massachusetts College

MA

staff of the

Board
of the

of

Overseers
Art

Rose

Art

Museum

Rose

Museum

Carl Belz
Director

Pamela

Allara

Stephen Alpert
Carl Belz

Susan

L.

Stoops

Curator
Lisa

Gerald Bernstein Gerald Bush

McDermott

Ronald Curhan, Vice Chair Audrey Foster

Lois Foster

Registrar

Corinne Zimmermann
Coordinator,

Judy Goldman Steven Grossman

Pria

Harmon

Patrons and Friends

Robert Laplante, Chair

Mildred Lee

Roger

Kizik

Preparator

Susan Lichtman R. Anne McCarthy

Lorna Rosenberg, Vice Chair David Squire

Stacy Lefkowitz
Intern

Jeanne Stanton
Jill

Starr

Charles

Dunham

Susan Stoops
Judy Tobin
Lois Torf

Designer

Jeanne Wasserman

-V

/ //
'f//i<

Rose

Art

Museum

Brandeis University

Waltham
IVIassachusetts^: