Women Heal through Rite and Ritual

Lavett Ballard | Tawny Chatmon | Oletha DeVane | Shanequa Gay | Delita Martin | Elsa Muñoz | Renée Stout | exhibition page

Renée Stout

I aim to present my perspective on this society from the point of view of a person who happens to be a woman descended from myriad cultures, but primarily African American. I observe, I experience, I process and I eventually feel compelled to construct a narrative that expresses thoughts, ideas and experiences that are simultaneously personal and universal. Through my work, I seek to tell an ongoing story as a way of bearing witness to the efforts of marginalized people everywhere, who make do to get through and the strength and creativity that often comes with that persistence. My desire is to reveal the rich, ever-evolving, alternate universe inside of my head as I navigate this limited and outdated system that seeks to mold our everyday reality in ways that run counter to our authentic selves. This parallel universe, filled with mysterious visionary soldiers, strange technological devices and evidence of ritual acts, provides me a kind of transcendence to a state of empowerment that I wish to share with the viewer. Through my work I want to convey the idea that while all human beings may have to function within this theater of the absurd, we don’t have to be of it and the ability to imagine and an open mind is a form of resistance and the escape route.

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Biography | Resume

Biography
Born in Junction City, Kansas in 1958 and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Stout received her B.F.A. in painting from Carnegie- Mellon University in 1980. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1985 where she began to expand into mixed media works. Her early sculptural works found their inspiration in the aesthetics and philosophy of Kongo ritual objects, leading to her becoming the first American artist to have a solo exhibition in the Smithsonian’s Museum of African Art. Stout now creates in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, mixed media sculpture, photography and installation. Through her narrative works, she aims to explore issues that are both personal and universal. In recent bodies of work, she has shared her concerns about the current social and political turmoil as she simultaneously offers the viewer a glimpse into the parallel universe she has created. Stout’s has won many awards, including A Joan Mitchell Award, a Louis Comfort Tiffany Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Women’s Caucus for Art. Her work can be found in numerous museums and private collections, nationally and internationally.

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I Can Heal by Renée Stout
courtesy of Wellin Museum of Art