Harlem Comes to the Vineyard
The renowned Harlem Fine Arts Show festival heads north to Martha's Vineyard this year to showcase some of the best in contemporary and modern art from the Diaspora. Bridging two cultural scenes with histories rich in black creativity, this showcase will introduce art enthusiasts to a mix of established and emerging artists. Here are some of the pieces being shown at this year's show.
Verna Hart, Piano Man
Hart is a native New Yorker — born in Harlem and a resident of Brooklyn. She was exposed to jazz at an early age and has painted in a way that demonstrates a melding of her artistic ability with her love of music. The incorporation of jazz rhythms and textures of paint creates movement and overlapping colors. Hart's art has been shown at the Studio Museum of Harlem, the Dorsey Gallery in New York and the Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute in Baltimore.
Woodrow Nash, Female Torso and Male Torso
Nash's sculptures transmit human delicacies and inner harmony, examining the contemporary male and female physiques. Nash explores the body's natural form and mythology. He incorporates various styles and techniques utilizing stoneware, earthenware, terra cotta and porcelain. Nash's work is fired electronically, pit-fired or through a "raku" effect, creating an "African Nouveau" trademark that's solely his own.
Heather Moss, The Wedding Ceremony and Ancestors of Eden
The art of Heather Moss will be shown at this year's Harlem Fine Arts Show in Martha's Vineyard, Mass.
Frank Frazier, New Work and Shoe Polish
Frazier is a native of Harlem whose art career spans more than 50 years of perseverance and inspiration. His works depict everything from war to jazz concerts. Many of Frazier's pieces have been showcased in museums and galleries across the nation.
Buchi Upjohn Aghaji, Ancestral Masks and Bicycle
Aghaji expresses his art through a variety of media, including oil, watercolor and acrylic on canvas, burlap, paper, metal and wood. Aghaji believes that one's artistic creations cannot be separated from experience. He reaches deep into his cultural and spiritual experiences to come up with images that truly engage the viewer. His work resides in numerous public and private collections in England, Germany, Africa and the United States.
Glenn Tunstull, Golden Dawn and Serenity
Tunstull began his career as a fashion illustrator after several years at Parsons the New School for Design in New York. He worked for Women's Wear Daily and other well-known design publications, as well as high-end fashion designers and retailers. After a period of global travel for Tunstull, his paintings started to represent lush landscapes. As his work developed, a sense of abstraction emerged, while the desire to represent reality has remained strongly present.
Najee Dorsey, Reno and Google Robert Charles
Southern splendor and elegance come to mind when one thinks about the artwork of self-taught artist Dorsey, a native of Arkansas with roots in Louisiana. Dorsey loves to express himself in mixed media and acrylic paints. His materials include old black-and-white family photos as well as decorative fabrics, India ink, foreign currency, other photographs, everyday finds and more. His work reflects Southern living.
Corinthia Peoples, We Do Benefit From Gravity and All Things Are Possible
Peoples' work is inspired by shapes, colors, angles, layers, emotions, attitude, history and an enthusiastic sense of adventure. "Each time I create a new design, it's mostly in the creative process," Peoples says.
Bill Katz (Collector), Two Women and Olympic Games (Artists Unamed)
Katz's Jubilee Fine Art collection has grown from his attraction and exposure to art, especially works created by African-American artists. Many of these artists were exhibited in a small, semi-publicly funded gallery in Hartford, Conn., known as the Craftery Gallery. In the gallery, artists were invited to give talks about their work, creating an intimacy between the artist and spectator. This intimacy served as inspiration for Katz's collection.