Meet SOME OF THE ARTISTS AT THIS YEAR’S 57TH STREET ART FAIR

Pigment International
4 min readMay 27, 2024

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Chicago’s 77th Annual 57th Street Art Fair happens this June 1st — 2nd in the Hyde Park neighborhood between Kenwood and Woodlawn. Meet some of the artists showcasing work at this year’s show. Pigment International is a media partner for the third year and will have works by local artists in addition to its Pigment Magazines and Black Gallery Guide +.

Read this week’s Pigment Newsletter in its entirety here.

William Kwamena-Poh

Born in Ghana, Kwamena-Poh, winner of the Fair’s Newcomer Award, came to the U.S. when his father came to teach at Talladega College as a Fulbright Scholar. There he was introduced to the work of teaching artist James Huff. Of Huff he says, “he painted huge intricately detailed portraits of African American women that blew me away… detailed, yet simplistic.”

Stephen Bruce

Acid Paintings on Copper

You have probably encountered his work as it has been on some of the most popular TV shows and movies to come out of Hollywood in recent years. From House, Law & Order, Criminal Minds, Californication, Big Bang Theory, Home Economics, The American Housewife, to movie sets (Matrix 4, The Avengers, Iron Man 3, Avengers: Endgame, Horrible Bosses and The Social Network, his acid paintings on copper help set the scene.

Kwame Boama Mensa-Aborampa

This Ghanaian artist seeks to harness the aesthetic fullness of nature and mimic what he sees there. He produces works that are easily identifiable and portrays stories that are all part of one very elaborate narrative.

Oscar Matos Linares

Linares grew up in Puerto Rico, an hour’s drive from the El Yunque National Forest Reserve, a Tropical Rainforest known for rare trees, lush flora and fauna. His father gave him his first camera, meant to take on weekend camping trips in the National Forests, while working on his BA in Mathematics in 1989. This led him to the formal study of photography. After two years of creating hundreds of images a week and countless hours behind the lens, he began developing his photographic eye. He relocated to Chicago to continue studying photography at Columbia College and to refine his photographic skills and vision.

Takako Konishi

To Takako, daily life is strange and image-rich as we are completely immersed in our all-encompassing social media culture. Takako seeks to explore and appropriate our data-rich environment as raw material to create an art that has tension yet familiarity. Using collage, he explores the subject, aesthetic, pace and ultimately sense of place we are creating through the many artifices of mass social media. Each finished piece has 200–500 images that create the final composition. Takako strives to create art that acts as a catalyst for conversation when words don’t suffice.

THREEWALLS PRESENTS SEARCHING FOR AUGUSTA SAVAGE IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE DUSABLE BLACK HISTORY MUSEUM AND EDUCATION CENTER

The Chicago premiere of Searching for Augusta Savage, the new documentary on visionary artist, educator, and leader Augusta Savage, will be held at the DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center on Saturday, June 1at 1:00 pm. Savage was a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance and helped establish a model of arts education and fundraising for the Southside Community Art Center (SSCAC) in Chicago. The documentary offers an introduction to her life, practice, and legacy. The screening will be followed by a conversation and reception.

Following the screening, filmmaker Charlotte Mangin and art historian and curator, Dr. Jeffreen M. Hayes, who is also the narrator and host for the film, will be in conversation about Savage, her life and the filmmaking process. The conversation will be followed by a reception in the Ames Auditorium.

The 22-minute documentary is part of American Masters Shorts, a new PBS digital series. Searching for Augusta Savage is produced, written, and directed by Audacious Women Productions’ Charlotte Manginand Sandy Rattley, in association with American Masters Pictures and Black Public Media.

The DuSable Black History Museum and Education Center
740 E. 56th Place

19 UPCLOSE

Nineteen Artists, A Journey Through Small Originals

To celebrate the monumental achievements of June 19, or Juneteenth, Overdue Recognition Art Gallery (ORAG) will exhibit 19 UPCLOSE from June 14 — June 16, 2024. The Gallery invites you to take a journey through small originals from various African American artists, reflecting on the minutiae of the shared Black experience. The artists shown in this dynamic show include the likes of Larry Poncho Brown, Al Burts, Leroy Campbell, Laurence Chandler, Calvin Coleman, Najee Dorsey, Michael C Gibson, Paul Goodnight, Joseph Holston, John Lister III, Thomas Lockhart, Jerry Lynn, Terry Lynn, Woodrow Nash, Charly Palmer, Levi Robinson, Preston Sampson, Deborah Shedrick, and Danielle Scott. Read more here.

Location

15402 Emerald Way, Bowie, MD 20716

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Pigment International
Pigment International

Written by Pigment International

PIGMENT-Intl ® is a multi-media arts collective redefining global arts, culture, and innovation. www.pigmentintl.com

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