reflections African American Life from the Myrna Colley

Detail of Season of the New Bride, Romare Bearden, 1982, collage
reflections
Traveling Exhibitions
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
reflections
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
Detail of The Long Memory, Betye Saar, 1998, serigraph and screenprint
Reflections presents
the lives, traditions, and
environments of African
Americans from the 20th
century to the present.
R
eflections tells a highly personal story of community
and place through a selection of the extensive
collection of costume designer and arts patron,
Myrna Colley-Lee. Featuring 50 works including paintings,
works on paper, collages, and fabric works, Reflections
presents the lives, traditions, and environments of African
Americans in the 20th century. The exhibition focuses largely
on the figurative and representational, presenting pieces by
such noted artists as Romare Bearden, James Van Der
Zee, Elizabeth Catlett, Eudora Welty, and Bette Saar.
Together, these complementary works present a snapshot
of life from within the African American community as well as
by artists working in close proximity to it.
The imagery depicted in the works selected for Reflections
focuses primarily—although not exclusively—on two areas:
narrative, or genre subjects from everyday life; and the
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
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reflections
Window, Ernest Crichlow, 1987, oil on canvas
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
Voyage of No Return, Radcliffe Bailey, 2008, mixed media shadowbox
landscape of the American South. The juxtaposition of
these two, distinct yet related, allows viewers to connect the
strong tradition of storytelling by African Americans (narrative
and genre subjects), with the sense of place that is largely
unique to Southerners (the landscape). Colley-Lee is herself
a transplant to rural Mississippi, and her collection reflects in
part her personal appreciation of the two traditions and the
way in which she sees them intertwine.
The use of collage by African American artists is well
represented in Reflections, ranging from the work of
modern master Romare Bearden, continuing through the
art of legendary Bette Saar, and up through the younger
postmodernist Radcliffe Bailey. Beginning with classic studio
portraits by celebrated photographer James Van Der Zee
and concluding with contemporary prints by Tom Rankin
and Maude Schuyler-Clay, the photographs included in the
exhibition chronicle the past century in a straightforward,
sometimes documentary, approach. Paintings and works
on paper round out this selection, and include examples
by the iconic Elizabeth Catlett as well as lesser known and
emerging artists including Roland Freeman and Charles
White. Finally, textile works including quilts, invigorate the
exhibition with color and texture, and merge self-taught
and folk artists with trained practitioners such as Carol Ann
Carter, Gerldine Nash and Hystercine Rankin.
This collection represents a dialogue between the artist and
identity. Only by reflecting upon the lives, traditions, and
environments of African Americans in the 20th century, can
this identity be found.
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
| 3
reflections
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
About the Co-Curators
Rene Paul Barilleaux is the chief curatorand curator of
art after 1945 at the McNay Art Museum in San Antonio,
Texas. Before starting his positions in 2005, he was the
Deputy Director for Programs, Mississippi Museum of Art
(2002-2005). He also held curatorial positions including
Chief Curator, Mississippi Museum of Art (1993-2001);
Gallery Director, Halsey Gallery, College of Charleston, South
Carolina, (1992-1993); Curator of Exhibitions, Madison Art
Center, Wisconsin (1986-1992); and Curator for Collections
and Exhibitions, Museum of Holography, New York, New
York (1983-1986.)
Since the mid-1980s, Barilleaux has organized numerous
exhibitions of modern and contemporary art, and has
authored and/or edited complementary publications.
He received a B.F.A. degree from The University of
Southwestern Louisiana in 1979 and a M.F.A. degree from
Pratt Institute in 1981.
Susan Lloyd McClamroch, independent curator, holds a
Master’s degree in Art History and Southern Studies from
the University of Mississippi, a Master’s in Preservation
Studies from Tulane University’s School of Architecture, and
a Bachelor degree in Art Business from Spring Hill College.
She has served at the University of Mississippi as Exhibition
Coordinator for the Center for the Study of Southern Culture;
Tougaloo College as Curator of the college art collection;
the Mississippi Museum of Art as Collection Manager and
Affiliat Coordinator; and the Louisiana Landmarks Society as
Director of the c. 1799 Pilot House.
About the Collector
Myrna Colley-Lee has been credited as one of the forefront
costume designers in the Black Theatre Movement. Her
most recent work as a costume designer includes Walter
Mosley’s The Fall of Heaven at the St. Louis Repertory
Theatre; Two Trains Running at the Gevea Theater; Radio
Golf at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, the world premiere of
The Ballad of Emmett Till at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre,
Gee’s Bend for The Cleveland Playhouse, Becoming Adele
for Gotham Stage Company, as well as Ain’t Misbehavin’
and Relativity at The St. Louis Black Rep. Colley-Lee will be
returning to the St. Louis Rep. in 2012 to design costumes
for their production of David Mamet’s Race.
In 2006, Myrna established the SonEdna Organization, a
non-profit which supports and promotes the literary arts with
an emphasis in the Mississippi Delta region, and is building
national partnerships for programming across the country.
In her role as Founder and President, Colley-Lee travels
nationally as an advocate of the literary arts while promoting
the organization and establishing relationships with other
organizations. Her primary vision for the organization
has been to improve the quality of literary education and
increased readership for students and adult residents alike in
the Delta region.
Colley-Lee has received numerous awards, including
Honored Artist from the National Museum of Women in the
Arts; The Agatha Award from the Rowell Foster Children’s
Positive Plan; Outstanding Costume Design from the
National Black Theatre Festival; the Exemplary Arts Service
Award from the Mississippi Alliance for Arts Education; the
Wynona Lee Fletcher Award for Outstanding Achievement
as a Designer from the Black Theatre Network; the
Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters Lifetime Achievement
Award; and she was recently inducted into the International
Women’s Forum.
Ms. Colley-Lee is the recipient of the Doctor of Creative
Arts, honoris causa, from Mississippi State University, and
the M.F.A. in Scenic and Costume Design from Temple
University, studied scene painting and properties at Brooklyn
College and completed the B.F.A. at the Women’s College of
the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
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reflections
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
Phyllis Wheatley (from Black Woman Series), Elizabeth Catlett, 1947, linocut, 2nd edition, 1989
Sojourner Truth (from Black Woman Series), Elizabeth Catlett, 1947, linocut, 2nd edition, 1989
Reflections allows viewers to connect the strong
tradition of storytelling by African Americans, with the
sense of place that is largely unique to Southerners.
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
| 5
reflections
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
Untitled, Charles White, c. 1969, oil on canvas
Three Women in a Garden, Romare Bearden, acrylic on collage
New Hope MB Church, Estill, Mississippi, Tom Rankin, 1989, selenium-toned gelatin silver print
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
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reflections
African American Life from the
Myrna Colley-Lee Collection
Rodney, Mississippi #2 (Road), Randy Hayes, 2004, oil on photographs, pushpins
Girl, Gwen Knight, 2004, serigraph/screenprint
Specifications
Number of Works
Approximately 50 paintings, works on paper,
photographs, collages, and fabric works
Shipping
IA&A makes all arrangements; exhibitors pay
outgoing shipping within the contiguous U.S.
Organized by
International Arts & Artists in collaboration
with Myrna Colley-Lee
Booking Time
8 weeks
Curator
René Paul Barilleaux and Susan
McClamroch, Independent Curators
Approximate Size
250 linear feet
Security
Moderate Security
Availability
May to September 2016
February to December 2017
Publication
Possible exhibition catalogue
Contact
Lindsay Goodwin
Exhibitions Manager
[email protected]
Fee
International Arts & Artists • 9 Hillyer Court NW, Washington, DC 20008
Phone 202.338.0680 • Fax 202.333.0758 • www.artsandartists.org
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