Art Throb
No. 12: Dr. Fari Nzinga - Curator of African and Native American Collections at the Speed Museum
Episode No. 12 of the Art Throb Podcast features Dr. Fari Nzinga who is the Curator of African and Native American Collections at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. In addition to caring for and stewarding these collections, she coordinates special exhibitions as well. Our conversation focuses on the current exhibition at The Speed Museum that Dr. Nzinga curated - Louisville's Black Avant-Garde: Robert L Douglas.
Douglas, who died this past February at the age of 88, had been involved in the planning stages of his exhibition. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville, a visual artist, community organizer, teacher and mentor to generations of artists and thinkers. This exhibition of his work features more than 30 of his paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures and presents rarely seen work from across the span of his career demonstrating the breadth of his artistic practice and the depth of his impact both locally and regionally.
Douglas was drawn to the work of the German Expressionists of the early twentieth century and their use of color to convey atmosphere and emotion. He directly references these painting techniques in several of his works in this show with his use of bright and intense color, simple shapes, textured brushwork and the generous application of paint. Douglas’ work is at once rife with visual references drawn from art history and uniquely his own. He explores many themes in his work, including (but not limited to): Defining Black art and aesthetics; connections between Africa and African America; standards of beauty and femininity; art and everyday life; and improvisation and abstraction in the creative and artistic process.
Louisville's Black Avant-Garde is intended as a four-part annual series spotlighting leading artists of the Louisville Art Workshop. The first in this series with the work of Professor Robert L Douglas opened June 30 in the Chellgren Gallery on the second floor of the Speed Art Museum and will run until October 1, 2023.
See examples of the art works mentioned at our website, https://www.artsconnectlex.org/art-throb-podcast.html
Episode No. 12 of the Art Throb Podcast features Dr. Fari Nzinga who is the Curator of African and Native American Collections at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. In addition to caring for and stewarding these collections, she coordinates special exhibitions as well. Our conversation focuses on the current exhibition at The Speed Museum that Dr. Nzinga curated - Louisville's Black Avant-Garde: Robert L Douglas.
Douglas, who died this past February at the age of 88, had been involved in the planning stages of his exhibition. He was Professor Emeritus at the University of Louisville, a visual artist, community organizer, teacher and mentor to generations of artists and thinkers. This exhibition of his work features more than 30 of his paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures and presents rarely seen work from across the span of his career demonstrating the breadth of his artistic practice and the depth of his impact both locally and regionally.
Douglas was drawn to the work of the German Expressionists of the early twentieth century and their use of color to convey atmosphere and emotion. He directly references these painting techniques in several of his works in this show with his use of bright and intense color, simple shapes, textured brushwork and the generous application of paint. Douglas’ work is at once rife with visual references drawn from art history and uniquely his own. He explores many themes in his work, including (but not limited to): Defining Black art and aesthetics; connections between Africa and African America; standards of beauty and femininity; art and everyday life; and improvisation and abstraction in the creative and artistic process.
Louisville's Black Avant-Garde is intended as a four-part annual series spotlighting leading artists of the Louisville Art Workshop. The first in this series with the work of Professor Robert L Douglas opened June 30 in the Chellgren Gallery on the second floor of the Speed Art Museum and will run until October 1, 2023.
See examples of the art works mentioned at our website, https://www.artsconnectlex.org/art-throb-podcast.html