The exhibition is drawn from the Pamela J. Joyner and Alfred J. Giuffrida Collection, and explores abstraction, broadly understood, as a meaningful political focus, rather than a stylistic preference. 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.
Solidary & Solitary ties together artists like Norman Lewis and Leonardo Drew in an intergenerational history and presents a story of mutual aid and care, of artistic inspiration—the power for a young artist of seeing another Black person as a creative producer.
Commissions
The Smart Museum of Art’s presentation augments the core exhibition with three site-specific commissions from Chicago-area artists Bethany Collins, Samuel Levi Jones, and Amanda Williams.
Artists
Kevin Beasley
Bethany Collins
Leonardo Drew
Melvin Edwards
Charles Gaines
Sam Gilliam
Jennie C. Jones
Samuel Levi Jones
Norman Lewis
Glenn Ligon
Serge Alain Nitegeka
Shinique Smith
Tavares Strachan
Amanda Williams
Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
