Fifty years ago the artistic companion to the black power movement was formed in Chicago by a group of five artists, including Pine Bluff native Jeff Donaldson.
AfriCOBRA -- the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists -- is one of the country's oldest artist collectives. The group exerted a significant influence on the development and recognition of black artists and their work.
The group's connection to Arkansas continues with current member Kevin Cole, also a Pine Bluff native.
An exhibition of work by the current members of the collective, "Respect: 50 Years of AfriCOBRA," continues through Dec. 1 at Mosaic Templars Cultural Center. Curated by Garbo Hearne of Hearne Fine Art and her daughter, Auna, the exhibition also pays homage to Donaldson with a short film, a couple of canvases and lots of information about AfriCOBRA's co-founder. There's also a shout-out to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, which nurtured Donaldson and Cole.
Some high points include Frank Smith's vibrant Untitled, a 2008 mixed media work on canvas that tells many stories as it also recalls a much-treasured family quilt; Akili Ron Anderson's cubistic 1984 mixed media on paper work Creation; James Phillips' richly patterned 2014 acrylic on paper Water Spirits Revisited; Napoleon Jones-Henderson's enamel on copper tribute to the gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama; Michael D. Harris' wonderful digital photo and mixed media print of AfriCOBRA colleague Renee Stout; and Kevin Cole's stunning Swing Low Sweet Chariot for the Emanuel Nine, a 2016 etched aluminum sculpture that stands 103 inches tall. It was created to honor those who were killed in the 2015 shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C.
Stout, the only female in the collective, is well represented by a number of works including 2013's acrylic and spraypaint on wood Brown Jar, with its tantalizing handwritten text. Adgar Cowans, famed for his photography, finds an uneasy beauty in Blue Bottom, recycled plastic pieces attached to an acrylic grid. Cowans' work is a statement on plastic pollution in the oceans. Nelson Stevens' portrait of Stevie Wonder, an acrylic on board, is magnetic.
Also on display at the cultural center is the fascinating 72-by-72-inch mixed media work commissioned by Mosaic Templars to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Each of the nine sections of At the Crossroads was created by a member of AfriCOBRA.
Don't worry if you don't know much about AfriCOBRA. This well organized exhibit is a great way to get up to speed; it's loaded with information and timelines on the collective and each of its current members.
"Respect: 50 Years of AfriCOBRA," through Dec. 1, Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 501 W. Ninth St. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Info: (501) 683-3593, mosaictemplarscenter.com
'SEVEN ARTISTS'
Seven artists from Boswell Mourot Fine Art's roster were in this year's Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center. Three won top awards.
No wonder the gallery is celebrating with an exhibition by the seven -- Ray Parker, Louis Watts, Anais Dasse, Cynthia Kresse, David Bailin, Jeff Horton and Jason McCann.
Dasse and Watts each won a Delta Award, and Parker won the Contemporaries Award.
"Seven Artists," which hangs through Oct. 16, features works by each artist.
Several works are especially impressive: Kresse's mysterious, atmospheric pastels can unsettle the viewer with their skillful color blending and how she makes rather ordinary subjects -- a highway in the woods, a chicken house at night -- seem like alternative reality scenes from The Twilight Zone. Her portraiture, showing a small part of a face on a large canvas, is penetrating and haunting.
McCann's The American Student: Montre With Two Lamps is a fabulously executed 72-by-48-inch watercolor-and-pastel portrait on paper. The Little Rock Central High School art teacher pays a sort of homage to Andrew Wyeth's Christina's World in the pose of one of the kids in Box Sliders.
Dasse's Delta-winning Sticks and Stones, a 48-by-80-inch gesso, charcoal, pencil and oil on canvas, is jaw-droppingly wonderful -- an unsettling folkloric neo-fantasy. Parker's oil on canvas portrait Post Punk reveals much about its male subject upon closer study.
Watts' Delta winner Gray Alphabets (The Ship Minerva Series) is among his works in the display, as are two works by Bailin, a multiple Grand and Delta Award-winner, and several of Horton's colorful architectural-inspired abstracts, all adding to an intriguing exhibition.
"Seven Artists," works by Ray Parker, Louis Watts, Anais Dasse, Cynthia Kresse, David Bailin, Jeff Horton and Jason McCann, through Oct. 16. Boswell Mourot Fine Art, 5815 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. Hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and by appointment. (501) 664-0030.
BRIEFLY ...
• Marjorie Williams-Smith, whose self-portrait The Messenger was one of the highlights of this year's Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center, is a skilled and inspired artist working in one of the most intricate of mediums ... metalpoint. Retired from the art faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Williams-Smith creates her art -- especially plants -- in exacting detail. Working in silverpoint, copperpoint and other metals, the work is delicate and often radiates a spiritual aura.
"The Messengers," her exhibition at Hearne Fine Art, continues through Nov. 25.
"The Messengers," through Nov. 25, Hearne Fine Art, 1001 Wright Ave., Suite C, Little Rock. Reception: 5-8 p.m. Oct. 19; Gallery talk, 2 p.m. Oct. 20. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Info: (501) 372-6822; hearnefineart.com
• George Dombek's Fall Open Studio continues today and Saturday-Oct. 14, 20-21 and 27-28 at his gallery and studio at 844 Blue Springs Road, Fayetteville. Info: (479) 442-8976.
• New works by painter Jessica Carder and former Arkansas Democrat-Gazette photographer Benjamin Krain are showing at Gallery 26 through Oct. 27. The Hillcrest neighborhood gallery is at 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite 1, Little Rock. Hours are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. Info: (501) 664-8996.
Email:
ewidner@arkansasonline.com
Style on 10/07/2018