Two great shows at the Smart Museum

There are two great shows at the Smart Museum right now: Solidary & Solitary and Smart to the Core: Embodying the Self. Solidary & Solitary features work by Black abstract artists. As a Black abstract artist myself, I was so excited to see such work get recognition. I had actually planned to go to the opening reception but because the weather was so bad last week, I went there today instead. Most of the work in the show is from the collection of of Pamela Joyner, a Black art collector. There is also art that was commissioned specifically for the show.  The description of the show contains a passage that particularly resonates with me:

For Black artists, abstraction is charged with the refusal of representation that is socially dictated, both by racist stereotypes of the dominant culture, and the pressure from within the Black community to create positive imagery. Abstract art as a practice embodies the possibility of individual freedom and autonomy, even within larger social identities.

I felt that. 

Norman Lewis, Afternoon

Sam Gilliam

Melvin Edwards

 

Leonardo Drew, Number 205

Shinique Smith, Study for "Love Is"

Shinique Smith, Phases

Kevin Beasley, Untitled (Vine)

 

Leonardo Drew, Number 29S

Jennie C. Jones, Light Gray with Bright Notes #1 & #2

Jennie C. Jones, SHHH #6

Glenn Ligon, One Black Day

Samuel Levi Jones

Smart to the Core: Embodying the Self is an exhibit inspired by a University of Chicago core course in the social sciences called Self, Culture, and Society (that many students jokingly referred to as Self-torture and Anxiety when I was a student there). A lot of the work in this exhibition is about the individual in conflict with society, particularly those with marginalized identities.

Carrie Mae Weems, Some Said You Were the Spitting Image of Evil

Hank Willis Thomas, I Am A Man

This piece was a collaborative work made by Amanda Williams based on the writing of Chicago journalist Natalie Moore, who recently authored a book about segregation on the South Side of the city. The red carpet is symbolic of the redlining policy that enforced segregation in Chicago.

Amanda Williams, Roll out the Red Carpet to White Flight (They Didn't Pitch Tents in the Open Prairie)

Amanda Williams, Cadastral Shaking (Chicago v1)

Both shows are on view until May 19th. The Smart Museum is on the campus of the University of Chicago in Hyde Park and admission is free. Visit their website for directions and hours.