BLOCKBUSTER

CONTACT:

Navindren Hodges (212) 333-2640 info@billhodgesgallery.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BLOCKBUSTER

Rarely Seen, Show-Stopping Works by Highly Important Black Artists

529 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011 27 October 2022 – 14 January 2023

NEW YORK, NY, October 27th – Bill Hodges Gallery is proud to present Blockbuster, an exhibition of highly significant paintings and sculptures by major figures of African American art history. Carefully curated from the gallery’s more than forty-year collection, Blockbuster features powerful works that convey a breadth of artistic innovation and phenomenal storytelling – distinguishing the canon of Black Art as foundational to the contemporary art genre. With rarely seen works by preeminent artists Romare Bearden, Norman Lewis, Richard Hunt, Charles Alston, Beauford Delaney, Edward Clark, Sam Gilliam, and many others, this exhibition draws from the most important works in the collection to demonstrate the heights of Black artistic production. From monumental paintings by Norman Lewis and Merton Simpson to striking sculptural marvels by Richard Hunt and Agustín Cárdenas, Blockbuster is a celebration of the achievements made by Black artists whose oeuvre reflects on seminal moments throughout art history.

Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

New World Acoming’, 1971 Oil on Canvas. 73 x 87 in. (185.4 x 221 cm)

The exhibition’s largest painting, Norman Lewis’ New World Acoming’ is a titanic work of compositional brilliance. A crowd of figures, abstracted in geometric frenzy, gather in processional unity under the crimson glow of a ruby-red sun. Enveloped in a burnt-umber haze, the dark silhouette of the congregation is accented by a bright, white glow that seems to emanate from within the crowd. A highly significant work from Lewis’ series of Civil Rights paintings, New World Acoming’ stands alone as a contemplative yet masterfully balanced exploration into rhythm and shadow in a large scale work. Norman Lewis, a pioneer of Abstract Expressionist art, is known for his artistic agility across mediums and dimension. At the onset of his career, his work was largely characterized as influenced by social realism. Like his contemporaries, Lewis saw art as an opportunity to directly engage with civil rights discourse of the time. However, as the 1970s progressed and Lewis’ aesthetic became increasingly abstract, his proclivity towards referencing dynamics facing the Black community never waned, evidenced in the organizing spirit at the forefront of New World Acoming’.

Another significant and un-missable work featured in the exhibition is Romare Bearden’s The Rites of Spring Bearden, a preeminent American painter of the 20th century and contemporary of Norman Lewis,

529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com

was born in North Carolina and grew up in New York City and Pittsburgh. While his early paintings were realistic and often religious in nature, his later works (following his military service during World War II) evolved into his signature semiabstract collage style

Romare Bearden's Rites of Spring is a beautifully balanced watercolor, oil and gouache on cardboard work. Figures with proud features anchor the composition's foreground and background, as they gently glow in rich shades of rust and mahogany. Bearden is well known for his “visual confrontations” when portraying the rituals of daily life, and that sensibility can be observed in this work. A man with a haughty expression gently holds a sprig of greenery between his fingertips as a mother and child gaze towards the viewer with downtrodden and beseeching eyes. It is worth noting that Bearden is not participating in mere agitprop with his work. The artist has been quoted as saying: “It is not my aim to paint about the Negro in America in terms of propaganda … [but] the life of my people as I know it... My intention is to reveal through pictorial complexities the life I know.”1 This rings true not only for the implications of The Rites of Spring, but also for the expressive and dynamic portraits of Black life in his body of work.

31 ½ x 48 in. (80 x 121.9 cm)

A third artist whose inclusion in Blockbuster crystallizes the exhibition’s commitment to highlighting essential figures in Black art history is Merton Simpson. In 1949, Simpson became the first African American to receive the prestigious five-year fellowship from Charleston’s Cultural Education fund; which enabled him to move to New York City after he graduated from high school. After establishing himself as an artist and gallerist, Simpson became a member of the major art collective, Spiral Group, founded by fellow artists and colleagues Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden, Al Hollingsworth, and Hale Woodruff. He also had a strong interest in African art, collecting and dealing modern artists alongside traditional works; eventually becoming one of the most prominent dealers of African art of his time. From music to painting, supporting creative expression was a core mission for Simpson, and his legacy as a philanthropist, collector, artist, and pillar of Black cultural production remains to this day.

Prominently featured in Blockbuster, Simpson’s Confrontation IIA is a striking and nuanced example of the artist’s meditation on race relations in the late 1960s – emerging from the artist’s Confrontation series. Simpson’s Confrontation series can be characterized by paintings that feature silhouettes and gestures of black and white faces inter-meshed and gridlocked in a charged encounter. In Confrontation II-A, the profile of two menacing, abstracted faces clash and merge into one, framed in sable shadow. Like two sides of

1 Celebrating life as he came to know it through his art was certainly a

as

Merton Simpson (1928 - 2013)

Confrontation II-A, 1968 Oil on Canvas 50 x 60 in (127 x 152.4 cm)

529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com

source of pride for Bearden and for his wife, Annette, who were photographed by Paul Waters

they presented The Rites of Spring in Bearden’s New York studio

Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988)

The Rites of Spring, ca. 1940 Gouache on Cardboard

one coin, the contours of each face find counterparts in the other, from the grimacing downturned mouths to the beseeching glints in the figures’ eyes – forming a singular visage, mired in internal conflict. Dubbed, “Mr. Mean” by Bill Hodges, this striking, large-scale work holds a special place in the heart of our gallery. Bill recounts first coming across the work in the early 1980’s, at Simpson’s annual birthday party housed in the artist’s Madison Avenue gallery. Ultimately, Confrontation II-A found a welcome home at Bill Hodges Gallery after being showcased in a 2005 solo exhibition of the artist’s work. Over the years, this work’s place in the gallery’s collection has grown to represent not only the artistic genius and historic significance of Simpson’s career, but the genuine rapport and mutual respect that Simpson and Hodges shared.

At its core, Blockbuster is a celebration of the remarkable achievements of the 20th century Black Art vanguard – whose work continues to symbolize a watershed moment in contemporary art. The compelling, thought-provoking, and all-together historic works in this exhibition epitomize not only the best of their genre, but are relics to the gallery’s decades-long admiration and demonstrable support of the artists in this collection.

Bill Hodges Gallery is located at 529 W. 20th Street, suite #10E, between 10th Avenue and 11th Avenue. Our closest subway stations are 14th St. & 8th Ave. (A-C-E) and 23rd St. & 8th Ave. (C-E). The gallery is open Tuesday to Friday from 11 AM – 6 PM. Saturday from 12:30 PM – 5:30 PM.. Masks and hand sanitizer provided. For more information or to arrange a private viewing, please contact the gallery at (212) 333-2640 or at info@billhodgesgallery.com

529 West 20th Street, #10E, New York, NY 10011 ∙ 212-333-2640 ∙ www.billhodgesgallery.com

Romare Bearden's The Rites of Spring is a beautifully balanced watercolor, oil and gouache on cardboard work. Figures with proud features anchor the composition's foreground and background, as they gently glow in rich shades of rust and mahogany. Bearden is well known for his “visual confrontations” when portraying the rituals of daily life, and that sensibility can be observed in this work. A man with a haughty expression gently holds a sprig of greenery between his fingertips as a mother and child gaze towards the viewer with downtrodden and beseeching eyes. It is worth noting that Bearden is not participating in mere agitprop with his work. The artist has been quoted as saying: “It is not my aim to paint about the Negro in America in terms of propaganda … [but] the life of my people as I know it... My intention is to reveal through pictorial complexities the life I know.” This rings true not only for the implications of The Rites of Spring, but also for the expressive and dynamic portraits of Black life in his body of work.

Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988)

The Rites of Spring, ca. 1940 Gouache on Cardboard 31 ½ x 48 in. (80 x 121.9 cm)

Signed, Upper Left: Romare Bearden Titled on Reverse: The Rites of Spring

Norman Lewis' Exodus is a vibrantly dynamic, eye-catching example of the artist's ability to balance abstraction, storytelling, rhythm, and repetition in his large-scale works. This work, prominently displayed in our current exhibition, features references to a crowd in motion, vibrating with exuberant yellows against a hazy, charcoal grey background.

Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

Exodus, 1972 Oil on Canvas

72 x 88 ½ in. (182.9 x 224.8 cm)

Signed and Dated, Lower Right: Norman Lewis 72

Titled and Dated on Reverse: ‘72 – Title “Exodus”’

Norman Lewis’ New World Acoming’ is a titanic work of compositional brilliance. A crowd of figures, abstracted in geometric frenzy, gather in processional unity under the crimson glow of a rubyred sun. Enveloped in a burnt-umber haze, the dark silhouette of the congregation is accented by a bright, white glow that seems to emanate from within the crowd. A highly significant work from Lewis’ series of Civil Rights paintings, New World Acoming’ stands alone as a contemplative yet masterfully balanced exploration into rhythm and shadow in a large scale work.

Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

New World Acoming, 1971 Oil on Canvas

73 × 87 in. (185.4 × 221 cm)

Signed and Titled on Reverse: ’71- New World Acoming’’

In this vertically-oriented oil on canvas, Lewis paints thick swathes of royal cobalt with horizontal, curving strokes against an overwhelmingly black canvas. Thin, light, scratch-like lines graze the contour of the shape as it funnels toward the center of the composition. The form created by these lines and brushstrokes resembles a mountain or other landform, which is reminiscent of Lewis's transcendent depictions of organic phenomena. Overall, the work is a fascinating example of Lewis’ mastery over color and composition in his abstract paintings. From the subtle intricacies of the composition’s cadence to the expansive, nearly abyssal feeling evoked by the sable background, this painting would be a critical addition to provide a more holistic and variegated vision of the scope of work produced within the genre of Abstract Expressionism.

Norman Lewis (1909 - 1979)

No. 5, 1973 Oil on Canvas 78 ¼ x 54 ¾ in. (198.8 x 139.1 cm)

Signed, Dated, and Titled on Reverse: Norman Lewis – 1973, No. 5

Simpson’s Confrontation II-A is a striking and nuanced example of the artist’s meditation on race relations in the late 1960s – emerging from the artist’s Confrontation series. Simpson’s Confrontation series can be characterized by paintings that feature silhouettes and gestures of black and white faces inter-meshed and gridlocked in a charged encounter. In Confrontation II-A, the profile of two menacing, abstracted faces clash and merge into one, framed in sable shadow. Like two sides of one coin, the contours of each face find counterparts in the other, from the grimacing downturned mouths to the beseeching glints in the figures’ eyes – forming a singular visage, mired in internal conflict. Dubbed, “Mr. Mean” by Bill Hodges, this striking, largescale work holds a special place in the heart of our gallery. Bill recounts first coming across the work in the early 1980’s, at Simpson’s annual birthday party housed in the artist’s Madison Avenue gallery. Ultimately, Confrontation II-A found a welcome home at Bill Hodges Gallery after being showcased in a 2005 solo exhibition of the artist’s work. Over the years, this work’s place in the gallery’s collection has grown to represent not only the artistic genius and historic significance of Simpson’s career, but the genuine rapport and mutual respect that Simpson and Hodges shared.

Merton Simpson (1928 - 2013)

Confrontation II-A, 1968 Oil on Canvas 50 x 60 in. (127 x 152.4 cm)

Pictured here is an untitled oil painting by Beauford Delaney, rich in texture and tone. In this 25 x 21 inch work, the bust of a woman with a proud, resolute expression is gently accented by red, blue, purple, and green as she gazes unwaveringly towards the far left of the composition. This painting's vibrant color and bold figural depiction makes for a unique, breathtaking composition.

Beauford Delaney (1901 - 1979)

Untitled, 1964 - 65

Oil on Canvas 25 x 21 in. (63.5 x 53.3 cm)

Signed, Lower Right: Beauford Delaney Dated, Lower Left: 1964

Signed and Dated on Reverse: Beauford Delaney Paris 1965

Jacob Lawrence’s “Builders No. 2” is a delicate example of the artist’s signature semi-abstracted colorful compositions. Thinly shaded in primary colors, figures shadowed in heather grey grasp tools, surrounded by a motley assortment of bolts, saws, and capable hands. Full of rhythm and repetition, this lively drawing is illustrative of the artist’s aesthetic and thematic interests in constructing a more whole future for the Black community; and the shared responsibility that such ideals embody. To this point, Lawrence was quoted as saying: “I like the symbolism. … I think of it as man’s aspiration, as a constructive tool — man building.”

Jacob Lawrence (1917 - 2000)

Builders No. 2, 1985

Colored Pencil, Ink, and Pencil on Paper 13 x 20 in. (33 x 50.8 cm)

Signed and Dated, Lower Right: Jacob Lawrence 1985

Charles Alston’s Family is a watercolor and gouache on paper work whose sense of hazy yearning and inclusion of figures with angular, intense visages is a signature style for the artist. Sheer and ghastly, a fog lingers in the industrial background of this work; which features a mother, father, and child, outlined in charcoal-hued shadow. Alston's Family series is one of his most important, from which the highly significant 1955 painting The Family, emerged, and is now housed in the Whitney Museum. Known for his moody, contemplative compositions, Alston was an illustrator, painter, muralist, and sculptor. He dabbled in all art sectors, from working as a Muralist for the WPA during the Great Depression to creating commercial art such as advertisements, record covers, and cartoons. His aesthetic and political interest in depicting the lived experience of African Americans distinguishes his work as foundational to the genre of American art.

Charles Alston (1907 - 1977)

Family

Watercolor and Gouache on Paper

18 x 23 ⅛ in. (45.7 x 58.7 cm)

Signed, Lower Left: Alston

Romare Bearden’s “Prince Cinque (Maquette)” is a portrait of Prince Cinque, a West African Prince who, after being forced into enslavement, led a revolt with the undying hope of being reunited with his family. The story of Prince Cinque represents the lion-hearted resilience at the heart of much of the lore in African American culture. Bearden’s choice to draw from Prince Cinque’s story for this banner is highly significant when held in context with the banner’s production. Bearden’s “Prince Cinque (Maquette)” is one of the twenty banners produced for the American Bicentennial Banner Exhibition. This exhibition, initiated by the Chuck Levitan Gallery, was held at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 1976.

Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988)

Prince Cinque, 1976 Nylon Banner, ed. of 100 (Three Produced) 59 ¾ x 44 ½ in. (151.8 x 113 cm)

Signed, Dated, Titled and Numbered on Reverse: Romare Beaden Prince Cinque 2/100 1976

Ed Clark’s “3/5 Whole” is a rare example of the artist’s exploration into the use of fabric to depict one of his signature compositions; wide bands of dynamic color, framed in ovular vignette. The source of Clark’s titular reference is the compromise enacted by the Constitutional Convention of 1878, wherein it was decried that votes from African Americans in southern states would be counted as 3/5 of a vote, implying that the worth of the voter was only “3/5 Whole.” This banner’s commentary on the fraught history of racial prejudice at the inception of American patriotism is made more poignant when considered alongside the context of its production. Clark’s “3/5 Whole” is one of the twenty banners produced for the American Bicentennial Banner Exhibition. This exhibition, initiated by the Chuck Levitan Gallery, was held at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in 1976.

Edward Clark (1926 - 2019)

3/5 Whole, 1976 Nylon Fabric Banner, ed. of 100 (Less than 5 Produced) 63 x 43 in. (160 x 109.2 cm)

Signed, Dated, Titled and Numbered on Reverse: Edward Clark 3/5 Whole 3/100 1976

Sam Gilliam, a pioneer of abstract art and known for his fluency in color across scale and mediums, Gilliam expanded the way his work occupied, manipulated, and commanded space. Sam Gilliam’s Arc Composition is a dynamic assemblage of acrylic, enamel, aluminum, and canvas construction on wood. Gilliam, a visionary of abstraction, known for his fluency in color across mediums, is also celebrated for the blend of rhythm, tone, and texture in his sculptural triumphs. It can unequivocally be said that Arc Composition is a prime example of this sensibility. In this sizable work, an abundance of colorful bisecting shapes comprise the interlocking silhouette of this geometric sculpture. Buzzing in kaleidoscopic chroma, Arc Composition’s curving edges and sloping topography electrify the work’s visage.

In this untitled painting by Lam, color and deep shadow combine to create a composition filled with intrigue and character. Crimson reds pop out from honey-hued golds as semi-abstract skeletal animal figures prowl the foreground. Lam’s instinct for the line is seen in this work as sinuous black lines curve around the creature’s face and outlines all forms in the image. From the painting’s hard angles and soft curves, Lam’s building a story in keeping with his description of his paintings as “poetry”.

Wifredo Lam (1902 - 1982)

Untitled (also known as Ídolo), 1975 Oil on Canvas 9 ⅞ x 13 ¾ in. (25 x 35 cm)

Signed and Dated, Lower Right: Wifredo Lam, 1975

Richard Hunt has been quoted as saying, “In some works it is my intention to develop the kind of forms Nature might create if only heat and steel were available to her.” This sensibility is made manifest in this large-scale welded steel sculpture, showcasing the Hunt’s keen eye for combining recognizable shapes with otherworldly abstracted forms. Emerging from a rectangular window-like frame base is a stretching, soaring, winged form with various knobbed branches and protruding limbs. The form is perched atop the sculpture’s highest point, though rooted by the tail to the confines of its steel base. Both a critical aspect of the rectangular frame’s adornment, yet existing outside of its borders, the abstracted avian creature exists in paradox, as the title suggests, Inside and Outside the Frame.

Richard Hunt (1935 - )

Inside and Outside the Frame, 2006 - 2020 Cast and Welded Bronze 77 x 36 ¼ x 30 ½ in. (195.6 x 92.1 x 77.5 cm)

Richard Hunt’s Upward Outward and Around is a resplendent work of contours and contradictions, with pointed, twisting, prong-like abstract forms bursting from a smooth, solid base. With gleaming, finely polished stainless steel, this work exudes a dynamic sense of cosmic power, as the limbs of the sculpture extend, seemingly uninhibited by conventions of gravity. Hunt, known for his skillful blending of found metallic materials and thematically biomorphic forms, invokes a fascinating juxtaposition of the organic and industrial in this eye-catching work.

Richard Hunt (1935 - )

Inside and Outside the Frame, 2006 - 2020 Cast and Welded Bronze 77 x 36 ¼ x 30 ½ in. (195.6 x 92.1 x 77.5 cm)

Cárdenas’ style is characterized by his transformation of dense, rough natural materials into organic forms that truly embody visual poetry, and the following works are no exception. Pictured to the right is Elle, a towering ten foot marvel of sculpted burnt oak, among the largest works that the artist created. Adding to its rarity are fragmented, bone-like shapes in stained burnt umber that mark the alabaster of the cylindrical trunk, as Cárdenas seldom made multi-colored sculptures. In many ways, this work is a brilliant example of how the artist seamlessly infused African motifs into a surrealist vocabulary. The wooden texture, design and marvelous height of the work evoke imagery of sage, mystical trees in fables – beckoning investigation into its crevices and transforming white walls into blank pages anxious to be filled with words.

Agustín

Cárdenas (1927 - 2001)

Elle, 1964 Painted Burnt Oak

110 ½ x 9 x 7 in. (280.7 x 22.9 x 17.8 cm)

Base: 12 x 11 ⅝ x 11 ¾ in. (30.5 x 29.5 x 29.8 cm)

Total: 122 ½ x 11 ⅝ x 11 ¾ in. (310.2 x 29.5 x 29.8 cm)

Agustín Cárdenas' untitled work of smooth, undulant Carrara marble is a striking example of the artist's fluency in sculptural form. Cárdenas was a Cuban sculptor best known for his organic, sensual volumes blending Surrealist ideals with African themes. A descendant of Senegalese and Congolese slaves, Cárdenas was born in an infamous slave port and sugar plantation in Cuba. His style was heavily influenced by his origins as well as his artistic community. In this work, a cohesive faint veining in the stone accents the artist’s interest in imbuing natural materials with ethereal allure. Featuring abstracted biomorphic forms with winding curves and contours, the work’s symmetry draws attention to its seamless sinuosity. From its dense base to loping stems of sinewy, bisecting arms, the silhouette of the sculpture's support is a physical marvel. Consistent with Cárdenas’ interest in rhythm and compositional balance, this work evokes a sense of aesthetic tranquility, amplified by its otherworldly orbicular design.

Agustín Cárdenas (1927 - 2001)

Untitled

Marble on Black Stone Base

35 ⅜ x 18 x 6 ⅞ in. (89.9 x 45.7 x 17.5 cm)

Base: 4 ⅛ x 16 ¾ x 7 ⅞ in. (10.5 x 42.5 x 20 cm)

Total: 39 ½ x 18 x 7 ⅞ in. (100.3 x 45.7 x 20 cm)

Melvin Edwards’ Culture is a minimalist, stainless steel sculpture whose scale, material references, and gravity-defying composition inspires viewers to consider the present-day intersections of modern futurity and enslaved histories. Edwards, widely known for the welded sculptures in his Lynch Fragment (1963 –present) series, is skilled in balancing abstraction and symbolism to address political and social issues. Important motifs in Edwards’ canon of work such as chains and nails viscerally evoke histories of racial violence, often positioned in tension with or in harmony with other forms in the sculpture. In Culture, the three linked volumetric chains provide the structural spine of the work, supporting a series of three, stacked, protruding geometric forms. Edwards augments the monochromatic components of the stainless-steel surface with scuffs, marks, and fine lines, a layer of scarring that adds dimensional texture to the body of the work.

Melvin Edwards (1937 - )

Culture, 1988

Welded Stainless Steel

61 x 37 x 18 in. (155 x 94 x 45.7 cm)

Partially Titled and Dated on Underside of Circular Surface: Cultur 88

This monochromatic work of painted steel is a striking geometric assembly of circles, rectangles, and squares, awash in crisp, canary yellow paint. One of the artist’s early works, most likely completed when he was living in sunny California, Yellow Way embodies the thematic versatility of Edwards’ artistic interests, as the work is fairly different than his wellknown Lynch Fragments series. Exceptional as it is, this sculpture is a key example of an often underrepresented component of Edwards’ canon of work. The artist has incorporated a yellow motif into a number of his painted sculptures, exploring the vibrant primary color’s visual dynamism in both large and small-scale works. The contrast between the rhythmic curves of the circles and their bisected, adjacent rectangular forms amplifies the formal, yet playful nature of the sculpture.

Melvin Edwards (1937 - )

Yellow Way, ca. 1970s Painted Steel

16 x 38 x 33 in. (40.6 x 96.5 x 83.8 cm)

Eldzier Cortor’s Head of Young Woman is a tender example of the artist’s gentle, intuitive approach to depicting Black women in his art. Inspired by the graceful, loping silhouettes of feminine figures in African art, Cortor often adopted the stylistic forms in his paintings and sculptures at the time. In this work, the woman is lying on her right side, her head cradled by the soft curve of her arm. Framed by hazy bursts of Pan African colors, her shoulders remain partially obscured, hidden in shadow. The tactile quality of the paint’s application to the surreal dimension of the work’s composition qualify Cortor’s Head of a Young Woman as a striking, unique sample of the artist’s historic oeuvre.

Eldzier Cortor (1916 - 2015)

Head of Young Woman, 1958 Oil on Board Attached to a Wooden Frame 8 ¼ x 17 ¼ in. (21 x 43.8 cm) Signed, Lower Right: E.Cortor

Born in North Carolina, a long-time resident of New York City, and a student of schools in the U.S. and in Paris; Romare Bearden was a dynamic artist whose transcendent work depicted moments and memories of African American life. Often inspired by jazz rhythms, his work made use of different kinds of images, using oil paint or collage materials.

Romare Bearden (1911 - 1988)

Spring Festival, 1975 Wool Pile Tapestry 95 x 66 in. (241.3 x 167.64 cm)

Woven Signature on Reverse: BEARDEN