Themes of Black Identity In America
Exhibiting Artists Statements & Bios
Milton Bowens – Tracy, CA
Born and raised in Oakland, California, Milton Bowens is the fifth boy of ten children and also the
youngest of the ten, that’s the origin of his unique signature Milton 510. Milton’s formal art education
took off while he attended the Renaissance Art School in Oakland during his junior and senior high
school years. After graduating, Milton received a scholarship to the California College of Arts and
Crafts. He completed one-year of study then enlisted in the United States Armed Forces and became an
Illustrator. He received his Associates Degree in Commercial Art under the Army’s College Education
Assistance Program (ACE). Milton continued his art education at Austin Peay State University in
Tennessee and at North Carolina’s Fayetteville State University, while completing his military
obligations. During this time, two of the military’s most prestigious museums: The John F. Kennedy
Special Warfare Museum, Fort Bragg, North Carolina and The Don F. Pratt Memorial Museum, Fort
Campbell, Kentucky, collected Milton’s artwork. After serving his tour of duty, Milton returned to the
Bay Area, where he continued his education under the mentorship of Fine Artist David Bradford, head
of the Art Department and instructor at Laney College (Oakland). Milton is a nationally recognized artist
and activist, who has been creating powerful work for the past 20 years. One of his jazz collections
“Afro-Classical” used as a part of course study on the Harlem Renaissance at Cornell University since
2009. In 2010 Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, appointed Milton as the Arts and Education Spokes
Person for Sacramento’s Any Given Child partnership with the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing
Arts, Washington D.C.
Artist Statement
In My humble opinion, eye believe it is not the responsibility of Art History to influence the individual
artist although it may do so, but merely to Inspire. Eye maintain that it is up to the individual Artist in
his or her own way to Impact and ultimately Influence Art History, and by doing so create works that
will endure, inspire and educate as well as decorate.
Storytelling is essential to my practice, as evidenced by my use of combining text into the compositional
framework of my pieces. The use of incorporating historical images onto color rich and textured
backgrounds which are embellished with vintage printed passages, found objects, handmade papers and
magazine clippings, adds a unique depth and extends the work outward to engage the viewer visually on
multiple levels and hopefully spur an interest in the narrative subject and create a curiosity to examine
the information embedded within the work. My paintings focus on the interplay between past and
present, time, place and truth, between joy and pain, also between different forms of tolerance, activism
and understanding. My works pair the legacy and importance of maintaining self-esteem for African
Americans while examining the importance of controlling the cultural narrative of one’s own stories and
experiences.
http://www.milton510.com/
Dawn Williams Boyd – Atlanta, GA
Dawn Williams Boyd’s work has been shown in numerous group exhibitions throughout the United
States: most recently in 2013 at And Still We Rise: Race, Culture and Visual Conversations curated
by Dr. Carolyn Mazloomi; Post- Racial U.S.? at New Mexico State University Gallery;
Quilts=Art=Quilts at the Schweinfurth Art Center; Eve: In The Beginning at Evolve the Gallery in
Sacramento, CA and upcoming in Pushing Boundaries at Republic Plaza in Denver, CO and
Exhibiting Blackness at Evolve the Gallery. Dawn received her BFA (studio) from Stephens College,
Columbia, MO in 1974. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA with her husband, artist Irvin Wheeler.
Her work can be seen at www.dawnwilliamsboyd.com.
Artist Statement
I paint with fabric, instead of on it.
Meticulous drawing, precise machine stitches, voluptuous hand embroidery and beading are merged
with the ‘womanly’ art of fabric manipulation, through cutting, patching, surface enhancement and
quilting. My work changes bits and pieces of fabric, many gleaned from worn, discarded and hand me
down sources into modern visual storytelling. It stimulates and educates audiences as disparate as the
hundreds of pieces of cloth used to create it.
My ’cloth paintings’ reflect my continuing interests in American history, women’s identity and
sexuality, religion and politics, all seen through the eyes of a Black American female here in the early
21st century. My work is figurative, representative, large scale and vibrantly colored. The larger pieces
take over 500 hours to complete.
“Waiting for Medgar: Jackson, MS 1963” is part of my Sins of the Fathers series, which consists of over
20 pieces in cloth, acrylic paints and oven fired clay, that depict sometimes little known stories of racial
injustice and violence against America’s Black citizens. Part of my fascination in painting with cloth is
the story of the making of the artwork itself, the transformation of the materials by new skills recently
learned. “Waiting for Medgar: Jackson, MS 1963” is appliquéd by hand using blind stitches, an old skill
learned at my mother’s knee, but it is the only piece, so far, where extensive embroidery is featured as
an integral element of the design.
www.dawnwilliamsboyd.com
Paula deJoie – Berkeley, CA
A second generation Californian, Paula deJoie was born in Los Angeles and moved to Berkeley to attend Cal at the a
17 and has lived there ever since. Paula has degrees in Fine Art, Law and Television Production and has worked in a
those fields. “I grew up in a family with a real appreciation for the arts. Writing and painting have always come natu
for me. No matter what else I do, I always have an outlet for creative expression.”
Artist Statement
When we are children, we create art with more instinct than thought. Over time, we are taught to think
first – to draw this vase or that body or tree the way some “European master” thought to do it. In
college, my least favorite class was Aesthetics. I thought to myself: What right does anyone have to tell
me what is beautiful and what is not? Or what is art and what is not?
After learning the “basics” I created art that was representative of the times, art that spoke to issues of
racism, war, classism, sexism and all manner of injustice. “What Is White” was inspired by relatives
who are passing for white and questions the very definition of what white or Caucasian is supposed to
be. For “To All Those Who Think”,
I transferred photographs of beautiful, dignified black people who graduated with my grandmother from
Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1914. I contrasted these images with today’s
common vernacular in an effort to educate black youth about our ancestors and to encourage them to be
more thoughtful and accurate with their use of words. Our ancestors fought and died for many things –
e.g. higher education, voting rights and the right to simply be a family – that too many of us disregard.
When my children were born, I paid more attention to family and our ancestors and my art began to
reflect those images. Growing up with a Catholic mother and an atheist father, my search for my own
sense of spiritual belonging has been endless. Some of my art reflects that ongoing search.
Most recently, as I pass the halfway mark in age, it seems I’ve returned to intuition, to art full of color,
energy and odd shapes… Art that is conveniently termed “abstract”. I am truly enjoying this “rebirth”,
so to speak. My new pieces (which can be seen at pauladejoie.com) reflect what is in me now: a desire
for an uncluttered Spirit that rejoices in the beauty of nature and discovery, as I see it.
www.pauladejoie.com
Zoë Charlton – Baltimore, MD
Zoë Charlton received her MFA degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Charlton has had
residencies at the Skowhegan School of Painting and at The Creative Alliance in Baltimore, MD. Her
work has been included in national and international exhibitions including the Contemporary Art
Museum (Houston, TX), the Studio Museum of Harlem (NYC, NY), Wendy Cooper Gallery (Chicago,
IL), the Zacheta National Gallery of Art (Warsaw, Poland), and Haas & Fischer Gallery (Zurich,
Switzerland; and is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner grant. Charlton is an Associate Professor of Art at
American University in Washington, DC. She is represented by ConnerSmith, Washington D.C.
Artist Statement
An ongoing interest in race, gender and class motivates my work. Using the nude body—often, a
corpulent black female figure—as metaphor, I explore the ironies of contemporary social and racial
politics. My deliberately humorous and sexual content challenges what we view as moral and ethical.
Playing on racist and sexist jokes, I point to xenophobic imagery that, in turn, alludes to collective
stereotypes. The work evaluates prejudice based on appearances by literally undressing it; the particulars
of cultural histories are writ large in these naked bodies.
http://www.zoecharlton.com
Nathaniel Donnett – Houston, TX
Nathaniel Donnett lives and works in Houston, Texas and studied Fine Art at Texas Southern
University. He was awarded artist in residence and solo exhibition at Redline Milwaukee in Milwaukee,
Wisconsin, 2013 . He is also a recipient of the 2011 Houston Arts Alliance Established Individual art
grant recipient, 2011 Idea Art Fund, 2010 Artadia Award and 2009 Tiffany Louis Comfort grant
nominee. Donnett has exhibited at Lawndale Art Center, Project Row Houses, Texas Southern
University Museum, The New Museum, New York, New York, The National Museum in Lima, Peru
and The Modern Museum of Peru. He has also participated in a musical performance choreographed by
Donald Byrd titled Bhandra Fever at the Wortham Theater in Houston. His work is available at Kavi
Gupta gallery in Chicago, Illinois and Morton Fine Art in Washington, D.C.
Artist Statement
I am interested in the study of human behavior, its psychological and emotional impact on society and
how society affects the collective and individual consciousness in general and black people in particular.
My work seeks to question, explore, and expose experiences, causes, effects, and the subtle transitory
elements along with those that shape them in everyday life and imaginary life.
African American culture, along with its inventiveness and improvisational approach, African sculpture,
historical and current events, psychology, personal/impersonal experiences, poetry and music are points
of departure used to introduce my perspectives, ideas and concerns. The subjects I wish to explore in my
works don't solely comment on art formal issues unto itself but also attempts to reach into the lives of
everyday people while also creating spaces for unpredictable situations and experimentation to occur,
question, critique, appreciate and examine our different positions in society as it relates to the past,
present, and future. I’m not interested in employing one particular approach or material in my practice. I
am however interested in using multiple methods along with every day materials that grant me the
freedom to reconstruct their meaning while shifting through references of space and time, fluctuating
means of communication and social critique.
miniscule, mini-school, I meant two schools; keep watching, one of two works on exhibit, is a multiple
thought response to power, authoritative positions and institutions that direct and control society.
Inspired by the film 1984, which was created from George Orwell’s book 1984 and the rapper Jay Z’s
song “The Streets Are Watching” made me think about the question of who patrols those who are in
power to patrol us? Security cameras can make you feel safe and also like a criminal. It was the video
camera that caught those police in action beating Rodney King. It is the camera that that can cause one
to feel their privacy is being reduced. How could one turn the cameras back on them? How could one be
placed in a position to be the authority over the authority, educate the educators? I was thinking about
relearning, reclaiming our human rights that seem to be slipping away.
One and Three the Hard Way, reflects an observation that lead to perception and possible deception in a
room meant to educate. The young black youth (mainly male) are in a position that is on the wrong side
of the media. Their potential is perceived as the outside of two of the popular bookends, which is
entertainment and sports. This is still true today with a biracial president who identifies as black. This
point of view is from a kid in school whose class time is interrupted by the sounds of reality. These
sounds soon become music that he writes a rap to and finds himself imaginatively removed from the
class. This brings up the dichotomy of real life circumstances and education possibilities. How does one
navigate both? It is also inspired by the 70’s Blaxploitation action film “Three the Hard Way” and artist
Josepth Kosuth’s conceptual work “One and Three Chairs.” It is the subject’s resourcefulness,
environment, and creativity, which inspire his own sense of self–motivation while commenting on the
educational systems that forget or ignore that these issues exist and can have impact on students.
http://nathanieldonnett.com
Marsha Hatcher – Jackson, FL
Marsha Hatcher received a BA degree in art at Albany State University. She has published two books of
her work, Understanding Me and A Visual Perspective. Marsha has won many awards for her work,
including second place for Mother and Child in the exhibition, Our Feminine Side, at The Art Center
Cooperative in Jacksonville, Florida.
Artist Statement
The average art lover assumes that every artist has a long drawn out story behind every piece of art that
is created but the truth behind most of my work is that there is no story at all but merely an idea, style or
technique I wanted to demonstrate.
Every painting is a challenge for me to do even better than the last painting. I love what I do and love
being an artist and cannot think of doing anything else I would rather do. I have always painted portraits
in an expressionistic style, with capturing likeness and emotion as the number one priorities. The first
glances at my paintings reveal an exciting diversity in style and execution. This diversity is the hallmark
of my artwork. The freedom to paint in a variety of styles keeps my paintings a joy for both myself and
the viewer. I approach each painting with an emotional openness that allows the subject and the
medium of the art to dictate the final form. This sensitivity to emotions is easily seen in the faces of the
people. This mood driven style of painting assures that each piece of art is unique.
Although the painting titled THE LEGION has somewhat of a story behind it, it is more about
technique than about a veteran of the war that proudly stands beside the American flag which he has
honorably pledged his allegiance to only to return to a country that causes him more pain for a longer
period of time than the time he has spent defending it. His service gave him an identity and his country
took it away yet he still holds his head high.
The technique I call “Drawing with paint,” is painted on black linen fabric and using only white acrylic
paint. In order to achieve the different values, the solid black area of the linen is left untouched. The
more layers of paints that’s added to the surface, the whiter the area becomes. This technique gives
additional texture to the surface which in turns allows me to add more details to the work. The black and
white give the painting great contrast.
DISCOVERING ROOTS – A little girl with a desire to learn to read the tattered book she carries
around. It is not just any book but, when looking closely, is a copy of Alex Haley’s best- selling novel
“Roots.” She wants to know her history and/or identity so she sits and patiently waits.
DREAM REALIZED – A grandmother proudly makes the long and grueling trip to see and take her
next generation family to see the long awaited statue of MLK.
Disk-Art
“There is nothing more complete than a circle.” I have known for quite a while that my creative process
would eventually take on a three dimensional form. To say the least, my choice of material would
consist mainly of wood. The shape would start as a circle and from that point it would take on the shape
of the final form – “Disk-Art.”
DIASPORA – Wood/Aluminum (A dispersion of a people from their original homeland.) This
sculpture is intended to be viewed as an abstract however, the image of the woman can be clearly seen
when the negative space (the cut out area) is the focal point. I choose a woman for this particular piece
because of the significant role women had to play in the past. Women, men and children were taken
from the only home they had ever known, stripped of their identity and was expected to conform to a
new and unfamiliar society. The wood that makes up the majority of the material lies just beneath the
surface of a very thin layer of aluminum.
FAMILY – Unlike the sculpture (DIASPORA) the negative space in this piece is not a significant part
of this design. The focal area is the man woman and child. As for the “copper curl,” just the early stage
of introducing other natural elements into my sculptures.
http://hatcherart.blogspot.com/
Joseph Holston – Silver Spring, MD
Joseph Holston is an American painter and printmaker who works from his studio in Takoma Park,
Maryland. His works are included in numerous museum and gallery collections, including the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Baltimore Museum of Art, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Holston’s visual narrative “Color in Freedom: Journey along the Underground Railroad,” completed
in 2008, and consisting of 50 paintings, etchings and drawings, has been touring since 2009. It was
exhibited in 2010 at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The eighteen etchings from “Color in
Freedom” are included in the collection of the Library of Congress. The series is also the recipient of a
grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Holston’s work is also included in two additional traveling exhibitions: “African American Art since
1950,” and “Convergence: Jazz, Films and the Visual Arts,” organized by the David C. Driskell
Center at the University of Maryland. The screen print of his painting “Letter from Birmingham Jail,”
commemorating the 2011 dedication of the Martin Luther King National Memorial in Washington, D.
C., is in the collections of the Library of Congress and the Federal Reserve Board. The screen print
“Jazz” is the featured poster for the Smithsonian Museum of American History’s 2014 Jazz
Appreciation Month.
Artist Statement
Creating this body of work was both a privilege and a source of inspiration. In capturing the spiritual
and emotional essence of this journey that is an essential part of my own history, I felt a strong sense of
connection, and a bond with lives just a few generations removed. My principal goal was to honor those
lives, and to do justice to their history and their stories. This was a very personal undertaking, during
which I could almost feel the dread of capture, the degradation of enslavement, the terror of escape and
the exhilaration of freedom. I had many of my own down days while recreating this journey, which I
now know were essential in order for me to communicate these stories. In every work, light or the
contrast between light and dark means hope, even in the bleakest situations.
It was very natural to conceive and execute Color in Freedom in movements, like a great jazz or
symphonic score, with a definite beginning, middle and climax. Music is integral to my art, and
classical musical or jazz is a constant background in my studio. When I am working, the two mediums
intertwine so completely that I see, hear and feel them simultaneously. Each influences the other and
helps define what unfolds in my work.
I have spent my entire career working to perfect my craft as an artist in multiple mediums. Initially, I
created only paintings and drawings. But as I began to explore other mediums, I discovered that each
had its own distinctive characteristics, its own matchless capacity to give voice to my work in a way that
no other medium could. My challenge is to master each medium’s technical aspects, while at the same
time recognizing that it contains within it a spirit—one that drives me in the creation of a particular and
individual work of art.
http://www.holstonart.com/art/prints#protection
Melissa Moore – Baltimore, MD
Melissa Moore is a multi-media installation/sound artist, musician, product designer, and community
worker. She is interested in and inspired by the intersectionality of the above expressive forms in
conjunction with healing work/spirituality, social justice, and collective consciousness. She was born in
Washington DC and is now based in Baltimore, MD. Moore has exhibited and performed throughout the
US, Canada, and Europe. She was accepted into Tou Scene artists residency in Stavangar, Norway in
2009, was the recipient of a 2008 Individual Artist Grant from Maryland State Arts Council, in 2010 her
debut solo CD, Language of the Dards, was released on Italian label Boring Machines. In 2011 her
music duo, Secret Secrets, released their first album on experimental record label, Ehse Records. She
has also been the opening solo performer at the High Zero International Experimental Music Festival,
along with performing the festival multiple years. Moore has performed with an international roster of
musicians, including Mazen Kerbaj, Magda Mayas, Marina Rosenfeld, Sophia Jorenberg, and Aaron
Dilloway.
http://babyuniverses.wordpress.com/ http://www.nikkuudesign.com/
George Nock – Atlanta, GA
George Nock, former running back with the New York Jets & Washington Redskins was destined to
become an artist. Introduced to drawing & sculpture very early in life, the self-taught Nock has
distinguished himself amongst the great sculptors of the 20th & 21st century due to an intrinsic ability to
capture "the moment" with versatility in bronze often reflecting life's experiences.
Inspired by two junior high school teachers, Mr. Tasker (sculptor) & Mr. Battle (painter) who both
allowed Nock to etch, sketch, sculpt, draw & paint throughout high school. In 1964 on a sports
scholarship, the soft-spoken athlete attended Morgan State University where he majored in Psychology.
After four great Championship years at Morgan, Nock was drafted by the 1969 Super Bowl champs, the
New York Jets.
Through hands-on practice, Nock devoted his life to formulating the Lord's materials into renditions of
wildlife, warriors, Whymms & women, the culture bearers of any society. "I feel a responsibility to
breathe life into untold stories and the images I depict."
Much of Nock's work is derived from some indelible experience stored in the crevices of his mind.
Whether sculpting a figure from world history, a forgotten people, or a famed athlete Nock possesses the
uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subject with a characteristic pose or expression.
Nock’s series, “The Untold Story of Great Black Jockeys” is designed to familiarize & educate the
world with a little known but essential part of American history. The exhibit seeks to preserve America's
rich history of the forgotten horsemen who helped shape our nation's thoroughbred racing industry.
The story encompasses the forgotten first "Great Sports Stars" of America, the "Great Black Jockeys".
The diminutive athletes who became giants in sports lore and history made their mark in being a part of
America's great athletic heritage. Long before the three J's-Jackie Robinson, Joe Louis, and Jack
Johnson broke the color barriers, these men and women were doing it in the Sport of Kings, namely
horse racing.
http://www.georgenock.com/
Amy Sherald – Baltimore, MD
Amy Sherald was born in Columbus, Ga. in 1973. She attended Clark- Atlanta University where she
earned a Bachelor’s of the Arts in painting in 1997. While attending Clark-Atlanta she became an
apprentice to Dr. Arturo Lindsay who was her painting instructor at Spelman College. She was a
participant of the Spelman College International Artist-in-Residence program in Portobelo, Panama in
1997. Sherald also assisted in the installing and curating of shows in the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo
(Museum of Contemporary Art Panama) and the 1999 South American Biennale in Lima, Peru. This
was the impetus for her to explore her own voice in the art world. In past years her work has been
autobiographical but has changed in response to her move to Baltimore, MD and has taken on a social
context with a satirical twist. Sherald attended the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned
her M.F.A. in painting in 2004. After graduating she secured a prestigious private study residency with
well-known Norwegian painter Odd Nerdrum whom she lived and studied with in Larvik, Norway. She
also attained an artist residency assistantship at the Tong Xion Art Center in Beijing, China in 2008.
Sherald was chosen as Jurors Pick of the New American Paintings Edition 88. Her work was most
recently acquired by the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Smithsonian Museum of
African American Culture and History. In addition she was most recently awarded the Pollock Krasner
Grant and the Joan Mitchel Painting and Sculpture Grant. Sherald currently lives and works out of
Baltimore, MD.
Artist Statement
My paintings originated as a creation of a fairytale, illustrating an alternate existence in response to a
dominant narrative of black history. As my ideas became more legible the use of fantasy evolved into
scenes of spectacle (e.g. circuses), to make direct reference to blackness and racialization. I stage
specific scenes of social ascent, and racial descent that chart the psychology and performance of identity
with a particular attention to notions of social exclusion and assimilation. The two works in the
exhibition, Madame Noir and Maybe if I wore A Mask are both positing the same question. What is it
like to be something other than the pre-scripted self that we know? These paintings both engage by way
of fantasy and/or costume the idea of stepping out of a marginalized identity into one that is either selfcreated or an impersonation of another.
http://www.amysherald.com/