Born 23SEP46 in Itawamba County, Mississippi.
I am
an old, Black,
My
work addresses the industrial, racial and emotional environment of South Side
Chicago. There are large panels of sheet
metal colored by applying acids, urine and
* * *
AndréG1 & AndréG2: Painted after Bronzeville’s most successful (Black) gallery owner dismissed my work by saying: “Your work is too depressing, too dark. Black people like brilliant colors. Don’t you ever paint flowers; I like flowers….”
MATERIALITY: Eyes are stones from my
grandmother's grave (
SelfPortrait1 & SelfPortrait2: Painted after a South Side conference during
which several collectors spoke eloquently on the “naturalness of
representational art to Black people.…”
Indeed, one Black artist/curator reprimanded me for being insensitive to parlor room
color schemes. COMPOSITION: MS mud, paint.
SelfPortrait3 & SelfPortrait4: Painted after Bronzeville’s
second most successful (Black) gallery owner showed me to her French doors
after dismissing my work thus: “Your
work is too dark. I could never sell
this; it would take too much energy. My
clients buy only positive Black
images.” COMPOSITION: MS mud, paint.
Then
there are the ubiquitous (and dangerous) strips of rusted nails and tacks affixed
to many of my paintings. These Borders,
(Frames?) are not unlike the ringing of a bell. The idea expresses the thorns
of
* * *
I received both my
undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University With Highest Distinction (Summa Cum Laude). I look forward
to the day when I may take my first painting classes, in a "positive" environment.