Exhibit shows examples of ‘ubuntu’ in life
The intriguing title of the five-person show at Hearne Fine Art — “Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are” — needs a little explanation.
An exhibition statement posted in the gallery explains the word “ubuntu” originated in the Zulu language and is used to describe humanity as it relates to an individual’s relationship to others. People are, the statement states, “defined by all lives … the sum of multiple histories of many eras.”
The word has also been described as a “universal bond of sharing that connects all humanity.”
So how does that relate to artworks by Chukes, Kevin Cole, Alfred Conten, Alvin Roy and Tafa?
Gallery director Garbo Hearne, who curated the exhibit, says each artist illustrates the ubuntu view by extolling and distilling qualities such as compassion, humor, justice and more in their work, which reflects the ubuntu philosophy of southern Africa.
Each of these artists is a strong communicator. Here are some highlights from the exhibition, which hangs through
Nov. 2:
■ The sculptor Chukes evokes the spirit of compassion in his meditative A Prayer for Humanity, the blue-glazed fired clay bust of a woman deep in prayer. Her faith and awareness radiate from this powerful work. Majesty, also a fire clay bust, depicts a figure of courage and conviction. Chukes brings an almost Egyptian/ modernist/Art Deco fusion to Me and You, a fired clay bust of earthy rusts and purple. Its lines and shapes set it apart from his more realistic and romanticized work on display.
■ Kevin Cole, the Pine Bluff native who is part of the Af-riCOBRA art collective, is represented by several multimedia pieces. Coming Out of the Blues is an exultant, joyous work that seems to celebrate escaping a tough emotional chapter in life. Dancing With Color, mixed media on tar paper, pulsates with movement and color, its beauty and joy unmistakable. Away From Mediocrity II speaks to doing your best, to following your own vision.
■ Alfred Conteh’s mixed-media portraits are small but powerful. Malik is a child who is wary, distrustful or fearful of those who approach. The charcoal, conte and acrylic work doesn’t let the viewer off easy. The warm Bree is an older black woman who is listening and considering what she’s taking in with an open heart. Phil projects strength and calm.
■ Alvin Roy’s mixed-media collages blend bright colors, bold patterns and bolder themes. Works from his “Talking Heads” series are on display at the gallery. Especially impressive is what may be the show’s standout work — the mixed media collage Sirens, which evokes Picasso and a hint of Salvador Dali in an African-influenced design. Roy’s The In Crowd shows a multitude of faces behind — what, bars? These are people who have been held back, jailed or hidden. It is a cry for criminal and social justice and freedom, in radiant color.
■ Tafa’s energetic oil paintings are a mix of abstraction and realism. Yo Yo Ma and Audience has a vibrant, rich palette of reds and pinks, with splashes of white, blue and green. One can almost hear the famed cellist and feel the power of connection between artist and audience, music and the spirit. It also is a standout in this fine show.
Also showing in Hearne’s Emerging Artist Gallery are several works by Matthew Fields. A graduate of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Fields is working on a master’s degree at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia.
On the superb diptych A Genuine Link, oil on wood panel, and on the striking pyrography and acrylic on wood portrait Creative Bloodlines II, Fields shows he has real promise. (Pyrography is using a heated metallic point to burn in a design.)
■ Events during the “Ubuntu” exhibition include a discussion with Cole, Roy and Fields at 4 p.m. Oct. 19 followed by an artists’ reception at 5. The exhibition’s closing reception is scheduled for 3 p.m. Nov. 2.
“Ubuntu” moves to Royal Grafix Fine Art in Houston on Nov. 14-Jan. 11.
“Ubuntu: I Am Because We Are,” through Nov. 2, Hearne Fine Art, 1001 Wright Ave., Suite C, Little Rock. Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday. Info: (501) 3726822, hearnefineart.com .
THEY’RE BACK
Three years after their last exhibition, Daniel Broening and Renee Williams of Gallery 26 are back with new work, which hangs through Oct. 26.
Williams continues her exploration of the relationship between nature and people in a world that evokes folklore, children’s stories, shape-shifting, mythology and hints of sci-fi and Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials). The finished work is often charming and whimsical, but it has its more serious moments.
The acrylic work is well designed and executed, particularly works such as the Art Nouveau-flavored Perched, showing a woman whose peacock companion is perched on her head, its feathers gracefully draped across her body. In Contact, a young woman stands in the midst of flowers with spiritual and metaphysical symbols overhead.
Who can resist a rabbit with a floral headdress as a hummingbird hovers nearby? The oval-shaped No Walls in Sight beguiles as it brings a smile to one’s face.
But this time it is Williams’ graphite work that commands our attention with her precise, fluid pencil work and shading, along with the thematic and design depth, details and magical realism vibe. That she draws on yellowed paper gives the work an intimate, retro/futuristic glow.
A deer and hummingbirds join a man and woman in their kitchen in Food and Laughter; a cat sports a headdress of flowers and plants populated with birds in The Disguise, and four women gather at a table in a secret garden in The Extraordinary Tea Party. Hummingbirds fly in the scene and bubbles abound — are they energy, messages or spiritual presences? Extraordinary indeed. Broening describes his fascinating digital drawings as “a meditation on the relationship of forces unseen and unconscious.”
In his artist’s statement, he says Prima Materia: Antarctica was created on a drawing tablet fed directly into the computer. To this, he added atmospheric data gathered from weather stations in Antarctica. Referring to the process as a form of automatic drawing, Broening says he has created an “algorhythmic understanding of how humans generate and perceive energy.”
Along with prints of varying sizes, Broening has also created an animation of the work, which is part of the exhibit.
Antarctica I, a circular image, has swirls of white around the black core Broening says is the continent of Antarctica. It gives us a view as though we were looking from outer space. Antarctica II has a swirling pattern that hints at pinwheel fireworks.
Daniel Broening and Renee Williams, through Oct. 26, Gallery 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Suite 1, Little Rock. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tues.-Sat. Info: (501) 664-8996; gallery26.com