The Riffe Gallery | Ohio Arts Council

Masterworks by 20th Century African American Artists will feature work by 12 of the greatest African American artists of our time. The work of Elijah Pierce, William Hawkins, Jacob Lawrence, Mary Tillman Smith and others will be on view at the Ohio Arts Council's Riffe Gallery from April 16 through June 13, 1998.

An opening reception will be held April 16, 5-7 p.m., with live music by Raise Productions Choir and the Columbus School for Girls Ensemble. The reception is free and open to the public.

Curated by Timothy C. Keny, director of the Keny Galleries, Masterworks by 20th Century African American Artists explores the complexity and immense diversity of African American artistic production. Artists featured in the exhibition are Benny Andrews, Romare Bearden, Ralph Bell, William Hawkins, Jacob Lawrence, John B. Murry, Elijah Pierce, Horace Pippin, Mary Tillman Smith, Alma Thomas, Robert Thompson and Bill Traylor.

The catalog for the exhibition features essays from three nationally recognized scholars; Joanne Cubbs, founder and former curator of folk art at the High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Ramona Austin, associate curator of African art, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, Texas; and John F. Moe, Fulbright professor of American studies, University of Bergen, Norway, and adjunct associate professor of ethnology and art education, The Ohio State University.

African American cultural traditions have influenced the visual arts through artistic, spiritual, social, philosophical and political means. Parallels in technique, including exploration of shifting perspectives, simplification of forms and examination and dissection of distance, are important in the evolution of the visual arts.

A few decades ago it was widely held that all connections to Africa had been erased in African American culture through the oppression of slavery and the tyranny of racial prejudice. Since then, scholars have identified adaptations of African form and ideology in artistic practices by people settled far from their ancestral African homelands.

Some African American artists have consciously reconstructed their connection to an African ancestral legacy by adopting the images and icons of an African identity for their own artistic, spiritual and political purposes. African American art provides a commentary on the human condition that speaks to all of us through an endless range of emotion, spirituality, intensity and energy.

Through Masterworks, viewers will gain a sense of history and a sense of faith in the future. Artists in this exhibition brought to their work a practical knowledge of the world around them and a unique perspective gained from the struggles and victories of everyday life. Many of the works refer to feelings ranging from cultural repression to pride, reward, love, hope and, most importantly, faith. The artists in Masterworks can be viewed as pioneers whose work, sacrifices and strong faith in the future laid a firm foundation on which today's African American artists continue to build.

Support for the exhibition is provided by The Minority Communicator, Ohio Building Authority, Power 107/Mix 106, Small Business News, Time Warner Communications.

The Riffe Gallery, operated by the Ohio Arts Council, showcases the work of Ohio's artists and curators and the collections of the state's museums and galleries. The gallery is in the Vern Riffe Center for Government and the Arts, State and High Streets, Columbus, OH. Hours are Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Thursday and Friday 11a.m.-7:30 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday 12-4 p.m. Admission is free. For information or to schedule a tour call the Riffe Gallery at 614/ 644-9624.

The Ohio Arts Council, a state agency established in 1965, builds the state through the arts-economically, educationally and culturally-preserving the past, enhancing the present and enriching the future for all Ohioans. The Council believes the arts should be shared by the people of Ohio. The arts arise from public, individual and organizational efforts. The OAC supports and encourages those efforts.