Jacob Lawrence. From Jan 26th through May 4th, 2008.
One of the world’s most recognized African-American artists will be celebrated at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in the exhibition, Jacob Lawrence: Three Series of Prints, in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing.
Comprised of 35 silk-screen prints, the exhibition brings together three important series of limited edition prints called Genesis, Hiroshima and Toussaint L’Ouverture created during the last few decades of Lawrence’s life. Lawrence drew from his baptism in the Abyssinian Baptist Church in 1932 to create the works in the Genesis series, which focuses on man’s creation. The Hiroshima series illustrates the series of everyday events and struggles surrounding the dropping of the atomic bomb in August 1945 in Japan. The Toussaint L’Ouverture series tells the visual story of the Haitian revolution leader’s life.
In his graphic work, as in his paintings, Lawrence uses history and his own personal experience to explain human nature. Intense and highly personal, Lawrence attempts to make sense of life’s mysteries through colorful and dramatic art. Lawrence was the first African-American accepted into New York’s Museum of Modern Art, thereby setting the standards for African-American artists. According to art scholars who study Lawrence’s work, Lawrence is credited for introducing African-American history and culture into the pantheon of art history.
For more information, please call: 941.358.3180
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