A sweeping retrospective exhibition of Witkin's work opened at the Syracuse University Art Galleries and the XL Gallery, in Armory Square, last month and continues through the middle of October. Titled "Drawn to Paint: The Art of Jerome Witkin," the two-venue show was curated by Edward A. Aiken, senior curator of SUArt Galleries, and draws from galleries, private collections and museums from across the country. It is an impressive exhibition that comes as Witkin celebrates his 40th year of teaching at Syracuse University.

 read the full article by Katherine Rushworth on Syracuse.com 

 

 

  

 Syracusan Carrie Mae Weems among those in D.C. show of leading black artists

 

 

Works by leading black artists in the contemporary art realm went on view Saturday at Washington's Corcoran Gallery of Art to tackle issues of racial, sexual and historical identity.

 

Weems' exhibit, "30 Americans," will be on view through Feb. 12. It features 31 artists, including Syracuse based artist Carrie Mae Weems, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hank Willis Thomas, Kehinde Wiley and others. The 76 works come from Miami-based collectors Don and Mera Rubell.

 

Corcoran Director Fred Bollerer said it marks an effort to undertake more daring exhibitions that examine serious issues and provoke debate. The Corcoran created two companion exhibits featuring 12 new, provocative works by Thomas called "Strange Fruit" that includes images hearkening back to slavery and 25 photographs by Gordon Parks.

 

"It's a challenging show," Bollerer said. "It's meant to be a challenging show." 

 

The images from Thomas are particularly striking. They include photographs of athletes playing basketball through a noose, instead of a hoop, and familiar logos like the Nike "swoosh" branded on the side of a black man's head.

 

The Nike image comes from Thomas' extensive "Branded" series of works. Thomas, who is based in New York and Paris, said he wanted to explore the word "branding" as it relates to advertising and focused in part on Nike because its logo is so often promoted by black men, such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

 

"In what other contexts historically would branding exist?" he said. "So thinking about how slaves were branded as a sign of ownership and how today so many of us live in a state of branded consciousness."

 read the full article by The Associated Press on Syracuse.com