A Place for Black Artists to Learn and Flourish
If you are looking for some good art, or are a student of African descent looking for a good residency, Studio Museum is the place to be.
Have you just ever wanted to go to a museum to consistently appreciate good contemporary fine art by African-Americans and others of African decent? Somewhere near the heart of Harlem in a rented loft stands the Studio Museum in Harlem. Open since 1968, this museum features art work presented in a context that addresses historical to contemporary matters. Its dedication to art is reflected by its constant recognition for promoting the art of those with African decent through viewings, panel discussions, performances and other means. The Studio Museum also features a residence program that boasts over 90 graduates who have successfully gone on to highly regarded careers.
One of the current exhibitions featured at Studio Museum is “30 Seconds of an Inch,“ a large exhibition by 42 artists from over 10 countries. The works feature studies from artists who learned about the issues concerning identity and U.S. conceptual art along with mid-century avant–garde international movements. These studies are manifested in the form of large scale sculptures, figurative painting, photography and video and site-specific installations. These artists utilized elements of the city streets to get their message across in order to further emphasize their clever and satirical views of today’s society. One example would be Jabu Arnell’s Disco Ball 2, an installation of disco balls made of duct tape, plastic wrap and cardboard boxes suspended from the ceiling.
Jabu Amell
Disco Ball 2, 2009
Another thought provoking contemporary exhibition currently featured at the Museum is “Harlem Postcards.“ The exhibit features reflections of Harlem as it truly is in its quintessential, historical and artistic sense. Being a place packed with history with landmarks like Apollo Theatre, Audubon Ballroom and Abyssinian Baptist Church, this exhibit is a true reflection for the love of history and the love of Harlem.
Inspired by the title “John Dowell’s Delicate Touch” (1977), Studio Museum’s A Delicate Touch features 18 works of watercolor. With some pieces dating back to ‘50s this exhibit is a great study of the inter-generational use of watercolors. Each piece of artwork addresses a different subject matter and uses watercolor in a variety of ways that could very well open up a sub-genre of water color techniques. Romare Bearden’s untitled work piece, created in 1948 reflects the pre-cubistic style of Picasso in heavily painted water colors reminiscent of an oil painting.
Romare Bearden
The Studio Museum in Harle; museum purchase and gift from E.Thomas and Audlyn
Higgins Williams 97.9.6
Another, and arguably the exhibit expressing the greatest potential is the “Air” exhibit showcasing the new 2009–10 artists, Mequitta Ahuja, Lauren Kelley and Valerie Pirain. Every year the museum presents a 12-month studio residency for three up-and-coming artists. The program was created in order to serve artists – of any medium - who exhibit potential of African descent locally, nationally and internationally. Each of these artists are granted a $20,000 fellowship, a free non-living studio space and a $1,000 materials stipend. At the end of the residency, the gallery displays the artists’ work.
Lauren Kelley
Big Gurl (video still) 2006
