INTERSECTIONS OPENS AT CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY
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Intersections, an exhibition highlighting the work of Richard Hunt and Joyce Owens, opened at Chicago State University on January 6th in the President’s Gallery. The two artists were inextricably linked to the university.
The exhibition was the first curated by newly selected Chair of the Art & Design Department, Thomas Lucas, who was a student and collaborator of Hunt’s at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. The master printmaker, artist, and self-professed ‘gearhead’ did the first-ever trophy design project for the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.
Richard Hunt ranked among the foremost American sculptors. His abstract creations, executed in welded and cast steel, aluminum, copper, and bronze, make frequent reference to plant, human, and animal forms. Hunt self-identified as a “Midwestern sculptor,” and he remained famously committed to his hometown of Chicago, where he made his life and career. Upon Hunt’s passing, President Barack Obama declared the sculptor “one of the greatest artists Chicago ever produced.”
Owens was an instructor at Chicago State University for 19 years serving as curator of the galleries and professor of drawing and painting. The Howard University graduate received her MFA from Yale University and her work has been exhibited on four continents. She was the recipient of numerous awards and commissions and a member of Sapphire & Crystals, co-founded by one of her fellow CSU instructors Marva Jolly, for over 30 years.
In attendance were Owen’s husband, long-time journalist Monroe Anderson, Hunt biographer Jon Ott, Rana Segal, director and producer of Richard Hunt: A Monumental Life, President Zee, noted Chicago collector Dan Parker and many artists and creatives.
Lucas is the founder and Master Printer at Hummingbird Press Editions. He has published works by artists including Hunt, Kerry Marshall, William Conger, Robert Pruitt, Willie Cole and Barbara Jones-Hogu.
The exhibition continues until February 28th.
BLACK SUPPORT OF THE ARTS IS NEEDED IN 2025 SAYS FAIÈ AFRIKAN ART
(Pics in the Drive leave room for captions)
Pigment International’s 2025 Forecast continues. In taking in the changing political climate, Gallery owner Fay Edwards, believes that Black people must support Black artists at all levels of their career, here and across the Diaspora. Her journey of supporting artists began in 1995 with a trip to Mali and Guinea in West Africa. The impact and beauty of the art was undeniable, and she began her quest to explore the art of the continent. The gallery showcases outstanding pieces from the Western, Eastern, Central and Southern Regions of Africa. African art continues to evolve with the traditional themes being echoed by modern artists.
In 2024 she traveled to Paris for Parcours des Mondes, the most important art fair worldwide, dedicated to Tribal Art, Asian cultures and Archeology. Edwards explored the offerings of art from Africa and Oceania. This year she plans to visit the art fairs in NYC.
She has her eye on artist Segun Aiyesan from Lagos via Canada and offers that her favorite historical artist is Charles White.
“This art is not created art for arts’ sake,” Edwards concludes, it speaks of the connections to tradition, family, the ancestors, and the belief in the Omnipresence of the Spirit.”
Read about Ghanaian watercolorist Dartey, whose works Faiè represents, in this issue of Pigment International’s ART. The gallery is located at 1005 E. 43rd Street, Chicago, IL.
LATCHKEY KID: AN INTERNAL PERSPECTIVE
Paul Branton’s exhibition Latchkey Kid: An Internal Perspective opened at Epiphany Center for the Arts on Friday, January 17th.
The South Side of Chicago is a precarious environment to navigate. This was true in the 70’s and remains true today. Branton attacks both canvas and paper to explore these memories and feelings. Comedians deal with trauma through laughter, while he tackles these internal demons with vivid colors, unwavering truth and bits of humor. For those kids that were left alone to explore the South Side neighborhoods, this body of work speaks directly to them. These drawings and paintings create a dialogue for healing. The exhibit continues through March 7.
PROF. TURTEL ONLI, M.A.A.T PREACHED “RHYTHMISM”
We are saddened to report of the passing of Turtel Onli. Onli, an advocate for Black artists in comics was a visual art, producing works in painting, drawing, illustration, publishing, fashion, and multimedia production. Known as “the Father” of the “Black Age of Comics,” he authored and illustrated numerous comic books and graphic novels, including NOG, Protector of the Pyramids, Malcolm 10, Nog Nu and Grammar Patrol. He is known as a movement dedicated to the promotion, creation, and support of Afrocentric comic books and graphic novels. Onli coined the term “Rhythmism” to define and interpret his stylizations, which fuse primitive and futuristic concepts. A retired public school art teacher, he worked in the Chicago Public Schools for more than two decades.
Of his work he said, “I welcome the trending of AI & Afrofuturism in that they both provide folks paths to appreciate my decades long Rhythmistic Future-Primitif artistic practice.”
We remember how he regularly sent his graphic postcards in the mail and are grateful to have received his last Kwanzaa mailing in December. Sincere condolences to his family.
TUNE IN TO RHYTHM & RESILIENCE
Rhythm, Rhyme, & Resilience: Lighting the Light that Lasts premiered on January 15. Created by long-time Chicago journalist Sylvia Ewing the special was created to honor the ancestors, commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday and Dream, and uplift the Black community.
Ewing calls it a love letter from Chicago. It streams on YouTube and in Chicago, you can register to attend a screening with members of the cast at the Carter G Woodson Library.
Watch here: Rhythm Rhyme & Resilience on YouTube
15TH ANNUAL CaFA FAIR BARBADOS, MARCH 5–9, 2025
Multi-award-winning scenic designer and visual artist Christopher Cumberbatch, headlines a list of over 40 Caribbean and Diaspora contemporary artists participating in the 15th Annual Caribbean Fine Art (CaFA) Fair, at the refurbished Pelican House. Mr. Cumberbatch will discuss his career designing and creating sets for stage and screen on Saturday afternoon, as part of the daily schedule of art, fashion, film, and performance. Actor/Director Tyson Hall, whose credits include Empire Boulevard, Raising Kanan and Godfather of Harlem will discuss his career and filmography at UWI EBCCI on the Thursday night of the Fair at 7 pm. His visual art will also be on display at the Pelican House venue, which is adjacent to the historic Pelican Village Craft Center in the heart of Capital City Bridgetown. Both Mr. Cumberbatch and Mr. Hall are Barbadian Diaspora born in the US. While operating on opposite sides of the camera they have worked with many of the biggest names in the film and TV world.
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