Protest exhibition @ House of Art Gallery, Brooklyn

Yesterday I went to the opening reception of “Protest” – a group exhibition running from February 18 to March 17 in a cute gallery in Bed-Stuy – on the corner of Halsey and Marcus Garvey blvd. “Protest” includes the painters Charlotta Janssen, Frank Morrison, Dan Ericson and Anton and Najee Dorsey – their art is definitely politically and socially addressed – against racism, discrimination and oppression. As technique it’s very diverse – Dan Ericson’s work is based on street signs, Charlotta Janssen paints portraits of Civil Right movement leaders as mug shots with text from real documents included, we see cubism inspiration and collages in Anton Dorsey’s work… A lot of the art is based on real events or people – this Naaje Dorsey painting for example shows a church that Ku Klux Klan in the early 1900s wanted to burn down so the decants bared arms and they protected it.

 

And because an image speaks as 1000 words, here are some more photos from last night:

 

 

Here are few quick questions I asked Charlotta”

Who are the painters that inspired you most?

I love Francis Bacon. I also love strong work, strong lines, people that care about their subject matter – I hate to see work that is just egotistical and vain – it’s sad.

When did you started painting?

Since I was a kid but I was never serious about it since I was in my 20s… Back then I was painting a lot of cityscapes – my work was colorful and cartooney – I was working a lot with water color pencils, I think they’re great. Now I use acrylic oil, iron rust and collages. I like to work fast and I like to glaze a lot – that way you can feel the cheekbones and the muscles coming out – and it doesn’t seem flat. I also like the medium of rust – it creates it’s own texture.

What interested you in the Civil Rights movement?

It’s the moment of confrontation –   in these mug shots the person in front of the camera is looking to the one taking the photo thinking “No, you’re wrong and I’m right”. When the images are all together you can feel the moment. I painted from photographs, but all free hand and these are all real people – you see Martin Luther King, Rosa Park, Stokely Carmichael, Mary Jean Smith – I met her personally – her story is written on the painting. I think that the Civil Rights movement is really powerful, we need to redefine it for our time now – we have so many issues – we need to evolve, we can’t just stay still.

Richard – the gallery owner adds – “the political message varies but it’s showing that art has a voice and your message can be expressed through visual imagery.”

 

For more you have to go and visit. The best was to go there is with either B15 bus or C train to Kingston-Throop. Yes, another great reason to love Bed-Stuy.