2022 Venice Biennial Art Exhibition
Palazzo Bembo, Venice, Italy
Installation Photos
artwork | artists & curator | curatorial statement | artist talk | press
Art of the Collectors IX
Exhibition
February 10 – March 16, 2024
view artwork
Opening Reception
February 10th, 4:00 – 6:00 pm
Programming
March 2nd, 2:00 – 4:00 pm.
Join renowned trusts and estates attorney, James Larry Frazier, for an enlightening presentation on the intersection of estate planning and art collection management. RSVP is required to attend this event.
[SOLD OUT]
The Power of Love by Sam Gilliam, 1993
Acrylic on polypropylene paper on wood, 45.5x 77.5″
Image courtesy the Early Collection and Galerie Myrtis
Galerie Myrtis proudly presents Art of the Collectors IX, a curated exhibition showcasing masterpieces from private collections. Immerse yourself in the brilliance of 20th and 21st-century works of art by African and African American artists.
This extraordinary collection unveils the creative genius of artists such as Elizabeth Catlett, Sam Gilliam, Alvin Hollingsworth, and others who have significantly shaped the American art landscape. From rare paintings to original prints, captivating photographs to timeless sculptures, these treasures have been safeguarded by generations of art enthusiasts.
Join us in celebrating the cultural richness and artistic diversity of these unique works. We invite you to be a part of this exclusive showcase, where art enthusiasts and collectors alike can explore and acquire these gems that have adorned private spaces for decades.
Programing
Art of the Collectors IX program featuring James Larry Frazier
Saturday, March 2
2:00 – 4:00 pm.
Galerie Myrtis proudly presents the “Art of the Collectors IX” program on the intersection of estate planning and art collection management with renowned trusts and estate attorney, James Larry Frazier. Tailored for both novice and experienced art collectors, this session delves into the crucial importance of strategic estate planning to preserve and pass down your artistic legacy.
Frazier, with his extensive expertise, will guide you through the intricacies of protecting your art assets, addressing key considerations such as tax implications, valuation challenges, and the seamless transfer of your collection to family members, individuals or selected institutions. Whether you’re just beginning to build your art collection or seeking to refine your existing estate plan, Frazier’s insights offer practical strategies to ensure your artistic treasures are safeguarded for future generations.
Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable knowledge that goes beyond legalities, providing a holistic approach to securing the future of your art collection within the framework of comprehensive estate planning. RSVP is required to attend this event. [SOLD OUT]
Opening Reception
Saturday, November 18, 2-6 pm
Featuring Jerrell Gibbs, Fabiola Jean-Louis,
Ya La’Ford, and Megan Lewis
| artwork preview | Tea with Myrtis is Back!
Galerie Myrtis is honored to introduce painter Jerrell Gibbs as the latest addition to its esteemed roster of artists. Gibbs is set to make his debut in the upcoming exhibition, “That Which Compels Me So…,” a survey and celebration of artists who have joined the gallery since 2021. Joining Gibbs in this exhibition are the exceptional talents of Fabiola Jean-Louis, Ya La’Ford, and Megan Lewis. Each artist brings their unique perspective and creative practice to the fore, resulting in a diverse and thought-provoking collection of works.
Through their respective creative practices, the artists in “That Which Compels Me So” invite viewers to contemplate the intricate interplay of memories, personal reflections, and the imaginative forces that fuel their artistic processes. This exhibition celebrates African American artistry and reflects the diverse and dynamic range of talent within Galerie Myrtis’s growing portfolio of artists.
Megan Lewis
Love Will Come Thru, 2023
Oil, acrylic and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 ″
Jerrell Gibbs (b.1988, Baltimore, MD) is a painter committed to creating authentic and truthful work, and he reveals Black men as Godfearing husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons. His paintings highlight joy, beauty, and the mundane, all components within the vastness of Black life. The compositions, which are often taken from his family archive, focus on placement, size, and proportion as much as they do on mark-making and painterly gestures. His assertions of legacy highlight the performative nature of heritage and displacement of an audience unaccustomed to more extensive and wide-ranging portrayals of Black life.
In presenting a deeply personal and emotionally resonant collection of paintings, Gibbs delves into the intimate realm of family life. His canvases breathe with the spirit of kinship as he transforms family photographs into vibrant portraits. Through his masterful use of color, texture, and composition, Gibbs imbues these cherished family moments with new life and emotion. The artist invites us to share in his family’s joys, sorrows, and everyday experiences, making us feel like participants in his own familial journey.
Gibbs’ artistic endeavors are a compelling exploration of the vital processes of preserving and passing down traditions. His work conveys the significance of safeguarding cultural heritage, rituals, and practices to ensure continuity across generations. His work bridges the past, present, and future, emphasizing the enduring importance of traditions in shaping and enriching our cultural identity.
Fabiola Jean-Louis (b. 1978, Port Au Prince, Haiti) a photographer and conceptual artist, engages viewers in a critical dialogue on representation, race, and power dynamics. In her Rewriting History series, Jean-Louis skillfully reinterprets and reimagines the traditions of 15th to 19th-century portraiture in stunning tableaus as an exploration of Black women’s historical erasure and marginalization. She has adorned her subjects in ornate dresses and embellished slippers constructed of woven paper crafted entirely by her hands.
In the equally compelling Polaroids series, Jean-Louis’ sepia tone imagery serves as a visual commentary on the enduring strength and resilience of Black women throughout history, highlighting their agency in shaping their own narratives and identities.
Through her photography and storytelling, Jean-Louis effectively challenges historical narratives by centering Black women in her compositions while questioning the broader societal structures and systems perpetuating inequality.
Ya La’Ford (b. 1979, Bronx, NY) is a multidisciplinary artist who works across various artistic mediums, including painting, sculpture, installation, video, sound, and printmaking. One of her notable series is the “Ancestral Portals: Future of Human Civilization (3355 AD),” featured in this exhibition.
Ford’s prints aim to create a visual atmosphere as a conduit for spiritual reflection. She pursues an understanding of the relationship and symbolic trajectories of the human experience and pulls them towards the spiritually sublime. Employing intricate techniques and hand and machine-sown embellishments, she creates visually arresting prints that reflect her deep connection to her cultural heritage. Geometric shapes, abstract patterns, and symbolisms give viewers a glimpse into her rich artistic lineage and the cultural influences shaping her creative vision.
Megan Lewis (b. 1989, Baltimore, MD) is an accomplished painter known for using various mediums to create paintings that delve into critical perspectives on social, historical, and cultural issues related to Black life. Her recent body of work explores the Black male experience, particularly within the context of Baltimore.
Through her vivid and evocative compositions, Lewis provides viewers with thought-provoking portrayals of the daily lives of men in her community. Her artworks, whether based on real-life experiences or imagined scenarios, offer a window into the multifaceted ways men of the African diaspora navigate the world.
In her paintings, Lewis captures the universal truth of the shared concerns that Black men face in their lives, including the desire to assert their personhood, gain respect, and challenge the stereotypical beliefs and biases that often shape perceptions of who they are. Her work thus serves as a powerful reflection of the challenges and triumphs of Black men in their quest for dignity, recognition, and the dismantling of harmful stereotypes.
Opening Reception
September 2, 2023
2:00 – 6:00 pm
This exhibition celebrates the rich history of black religious and spiritual traditions while also challenging the ways in which these practices continue to evolve and adapt in response to contemporary social and cultural realities.
Featured artists: Tawny Chatmon, Wesley Clark, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu,M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, and Felandus Thames.
Programming includes a book signing for “Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021” on Saturday, September 16th from 5 – 7 pm. The event is in collaboration with the Petrucci Family Foundation (PFF). Claudia Volpe, the Director of PFF, and essayists Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe will join featured artists for the event.
artwork
Light in the Darkness II, 2023
Oil Paint on Canvas, 24 x 18″
by Monica Ikegwu
Opening Reception
Saturday, May 20th, 6:00 – 8:00 pm
Artist’s Talk
Saturday, July 8th, 5:00 – 7:00 pm
view artwork | video | statement | bio | resume | press
Galerie Myrtis is pleased to announce Morel Doucet’s solo exhibition Water Grieves in the Six Shades of Death. The opening reception will be held at Galerie Myrtis, 2224 North Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland on Saturday, May 20th from 6:00 ‐ 8:00 pm. The opening is free, and all are welcome. No appointment is necessary to attend.
“In Haitian American Morel Doucet’s first solo exhibition at Galerie Myrtis, ‘Water Grieves in the Six Shades of Death,’ the multidisciplinary artist investigates critical issues of environmental racism and displacement of Black and Brown people from their homes, particularly those living in Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood. Doucet deploys ceramics, colorful silhouettes of Little Haiti residents, indigenous birds, impressions of native flora and fauna, and decorative ironwork salvaged from demolished dwellings to explore the impact of climate change and developers on this marginalized community.” – Myrtis Bedolla
Morel Doucet
Black Maiden in Veil of Midnight, 2022
Slip-casted white earthenware
12.5 x 8.5 x 16 ″
Galerie Myrtis invites you to “An Artful Journey: The Collection of Dr. James K. Hill” on Saturday, January 21st, from 2:00 to 6:00 pm. The exhibition, which honors Dr. Hill’s legacy and passion for the arts, features prints, paintings, photographs, posters, and sculptures by prominent African American artists, many of whom were his personal friends.
Dr. Hill discovered that he had the “eye” and the discernment to become a true art connoisseur. Dr. Hill’s taste was eclectic and wide-ranging, evident in his collection, which includes important Harlem Renaissance artists, American arts, and handicrafts. He was an enthusiastic supporter of artists and programs at the Howard University Art Gallery and the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, as well as a frequent lecturer at the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Community Museum.
Dr. Hill was a gifted scholar, scientist, medical educator, college administrator, and renowned expert on historic preservation and African American art. Hill graduated from Brewer High School (1953), and he continued his education, earning a (B.S.) from Eastern Michigan University (1964), (M.S.) from Howard University (1968), and (Ed. D) at the University of Florida (1974). He served in administrative and director roles in Howard’s hospital system. He would become a Microbiology professor at Howard University, where he later retired. He was a member of Phi Delta Kappa and Beta Kappa Chi.
Artwork is available from artists: Romare Bearden, Cornelius Marion Battey, Elizabeth Catlett, Eldzier Cortor, Daniel Freeman, Sam Gilliam, Palmer Hayden, Ethel P. Hood, May Howard Jackson, Lois Mailou Jones, Claude Lawrence, Jacob Lawrence, L. Leslie, Michael Platt, Addison Scurlock, Augusta Savage, James L. Wells, Charles White, and Hale Woodruff.
Dr. Hill was known for his weekly ritual of hunting for treasures. One of his valuable finds landed
him a starring role in an episode of his favorite television show, PBS’s Antique Road Show.
ARTISTS
Lavett Ballard | Monica Ikegwu | Megan Lewis | view artwork | artist Talk
Opening Reception: Saturday, September 17 – 2:00 ‐ 6:00 pm
Virtual Artist Talk: Wednesday, September 28 – 7:00 – 8:00 pm EDT.
The Beautiful and the Damned asserts beauty as imagined through the lens of three
African American women artists who challenge the historic limiting and unattainable
standards of what is desirable.
Opening Reception
Saturday, June 25, 2-6 pm
view artwork | artist talk | statement | bio | resume | press
Galerie Myrtis is pleased to announce Ronald Jackson’s second solo exhibition with the gallery. In this show, Jackson, a figurative painter, draws from his vivid and boundless imagination to construct a fantastical world habited by Johnnie Mae King, aka Aunt Johnnie. Known for creating work focused on the Great Migration, the artist leads us down a different path in his new body of work. Here, the narrative focuses on a single character and the notion of a Black woman’s uninhibited existence. For Johnnie, it is a life free of social constraints such as racial discrimination and gender politics.
Jackson depicts Aunt Johnnie in playful figurations and portrayals of acts of defiance. Lush vegetation binds Johnnie’s various exploits offering dramatic surroundings to her stylized couture. Her identity is concealed by the artist’s traditional masking technique or hidden behind whimsical eyeglasses that serve as devices to draw viewers into Aunt Johnnie’s imaginary world, one of fantasy, freedom, and reckless abandonment.
“Johnnie’s imagination allows her to dream uninhibited, free to do what she wants to do and be whatever she wants to be. Much like a time traveler, her mind allows her to explore the possibilities of navigating other places, times, and dimensions.” Ronald Jackson
Ronald Jackson
Untitled, 2022
Oil on canvas
60 x 72 ″
artwork | artists & curator | curatorial statement | artist talk | press | installation photos
Personal Structures, July 2022
The Beauty and Confidence of Blackness
The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined. With this installation, Galerie Myrtis seeks to provide insight into the socio-political concerns of the African-American community and celebrates black culture by paying tribute to the reliance, creativity, ingenuity, and spirituality that has historically sustained Black people, bringing it into a completely new set of Venetian landscapes. full article
Glasstire, June 2022
10 Works from the Venice Biennale that I Wish the Fort Worth Modern Would Acquire by Colette Copeland
[Tawny] Chatmon’s gold-leafed photographic portraits celebrate the beauty of black childhood. Inspired by 15th century Italian artists and artisans, as well as gold-inscribed historical relics, the artist juxtaposes the portraits onto historical landscape paintings as an act of affirmation. full article
New York Public Library, 2022
Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity: Schomburg Center Artist & Educator M. Scott Johnson Exhibits at 59th Venice Biennale
…The stone chips were flying as M. Scott Johnson, a sculptor and visual arts instructor at the Center’s Junior Scholars Program, began work on the first sculpture of his triptych, The Metamorphosis of High John the Conqueror: Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity. full article
Artlyst, April 2022
Eight Of The Best Collateral Events – 59th Venice Biennale by Lee Sharrock
Myrtis Bedolla, founding director of Galerie Myrtis in Baltimore MD, has curated a breathtaking group exhibition at the European Cultural Centre in Palazzo Bembo. Titled ‘The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined’, the exhibition groups together 8 artists who are reclaiming the inequality of white art history from the point of view of a black narrative… full article
Pigmment Magazine, 2022
Venice says “BENVENUTO to Galerie Myrtis in 2022
[Galerie Myrtis] is the first Black-owned gallery to be invited to participate in the Biennale-affiliated “Personal Structures: Time Space and existence.” The gallery was invited to the prestigious show by the European Cultural Centre-Italy. full article
Black art in America, April 2022
Galerie Myrtis: Exhibiting Black Art at The Venice Biennale by Shantay Robinson
By invitation of the European Cultural Centre-Italy, Galerie Myrtis is the first black-owned gallery to be invited to participate in the Biennale-affiliated exhibition Personal Structures: Time, Space, and Existence. This historic moment is predated by the 2020 racial reckoning the world experienced. full article
Culture Type, August, 2021
Latest News in Black Art: Guggenheim Hires Diversity Chief, Galerie Myrtis Presenting Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Kehinde Wiley Redesigns MTV Moonperson & More by Victoria L. Valentine
Galerie Myrtis Fine Art & Advisory of Baltimore, Md., was invited to participate in Personal Structures, an affiliate exhibition at the 2022 Venice Biennale. The Black-owned gallery founded by Myrtis Bedolla will present “The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined,” featuring eight artists—Tawny Chatmon, Larry Cook, Morel Doucet, Monica Ikegwu, M. Scott Johnson, Delita Martin, Arvie Smith, and Felandus Thames. full article
Curatorial Statement
artwork | artists & curator | curatorial statement | artist talk | press | installation photos
Blackness and the possibilities of its future are the impulses that drive the imaginations of African American artists who draw inspiration from Afrofuturism, Black existentialism, spirituality, and futurist thought to construct a Black universe of tomorrow. Imagery rooted in nuances of the Black experience offers counter-narratives that confront fictionalized characterizations of African Americans and cultural Otherness and offers, in place of them, the essence of Black humanity.
In The Afro-Futurist Manifesto: Blackness Reimagined, artists assert agency over narratives of Black life, offer discourse into the socio-political concerns of African Americans, and pay tribute to the resiliency, creativity, and spirituality that have historically sustained Black people.
The concepts of time, space, and existence serve as the framework for exploring Blackness and its speculative future. Time, for Arvie Smith, serves as the metaphor for allegories that reinterpret Greek mythology, presenting Black women as goddesses. Preach It and Cupid and Psyche are testaments to the strength of Black women and battles fought for autonomy over their bodies against iniquitous systems of oppression. M. Scott Johnson turns to African American folklore, Afrofuturism, and Afro-surrealism in The Metamorphosis of High John the Conqueror: Tribute to an Afrofuturist Deity to make tangible the spirit of High John the Conqueror, the time-traveling shapeshifting folk hero manifest in the psyche of the enslaved. Felandus Thames’s Space is the Place and Door of the Cosmos, synthesized in the tradition of Black improvisational music and the futurist philosophy of Sun Ra, explores the spirituality of “Black Interiority divorced of references to the corporal body and its relations to trauma, objectivity, and labor.”
Space leads to Larry Cook’s series The Other Side of Landscape, vernacular photographs that challenge the structure of the U.S. prison industrial complex and its 40 percent Black population. Through digital manipulation, prisoners who once occupied the “yard” are liberated. The barren landscape becomes the “escapist backdrop for a system free of human captivity.” Morel Doucet’s assemblage portraits address environmental racism. In After All That, We Still Stand (When Black Lives Look Blue), colorful silhouettes surrounded by flora and fauna provoke commentary on the displacement of Black people from their homes and communities. Delita Martin’s prints Visionary and Follow Me Little Bird explores Black women’s spirituality and ascent to a higher self. The overlapping of portraits, patterns, colors, and textures form liminal landscapes, “veilspaces,” as portals where the spiritual and waking worlds coexist.
Existence, as portrayed in photographs by Tawny Chatmon, centers Black children in Italian landscapes as a reaction against the historical erasure of Blackness. In Chatmon’s Pastoral Scenes series, Monique in Pastiglia and Ahmad in Pastiglia are influenced by the work of 15th-century Italian artists (such as Vittore Crivelli & Fra Angelico) and the practice of Pastiglia. They are adorned with African symbolism, which celebrates their ancestry and affirms their preciousness and humanity. Interpreting the inherent possibilities of Black youth free of negative stereotypes is the impulse that drives painter Monica Ikegwu. Subjects rendered through the lens of a Black aesthetic represent the next generation of leaders: Chidera, Brandee, and youth featured in We Outside exude confidence as futurists who will fight for societal change.
Myrtis Bedolla, Curator
artwork:
Visionary, 2021
Relief Printing, Charcoal, Pastels, Acrylic 40×60 (unframed) 2021
60 x 40 ″
Delita Martin