Preview
September 22, 2019
3:00 – 5:00 pm
Opening Reception
September 28, 2019
5:00 – 7:00 pm
Tea with Myrtis
October 27, 2019
2:00 – 4:00 pm
The Tell-All Earbox: model no. C0mm0n3r-1
wood, oil paint, shellac
8 x 11 x 8.5
2019
Exhibitions
13th Havana Biennial, Havana, Cuba
April 12 – May 12, 2019
Location
Galeria Carmen Montilla
Norma Jimenez Iradiz, Directora
Calle de los Oficios No. 162, Old Havana
Opening Reception: April 13, 2019, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Curators Myrtis Bedolla and Ana Joa reunite for the second iteration of Building Bridges II: The Politics of Love, Identity, and Race. In bridging peoples, politics, and cultures, the exhibition investigates the dogma of love, gender politics, and prevailing assumptions about identity and race. We thank Eusebio Leal Spengler, Old Havana Restoration Project for his support.
Los curadores Myrtis Bedolla y Ana Joa se reúnen para la segunda versión de Haciendo Puentes II: La Política del Amor, la Identidad y la Raza. Al unir a los pueblos, la política y las culturas, la exposición investiga el dogma del amor, la política de género y los supuestos prevalentes sobre la identidad y la raza. Agradecemos a Eusebio Leal Spengler, Havana Vieja Restauracion Proyecto por su apoyo.
American Artists: Tawny Chatmon, Wesley Clark, Larry Cook, Alfred Conteh, Anna U. Davis, Morel Doucet, Vance Gragg, Susan Goldman, Michael Gross, Ronald Jackson, M. Scott Johnson, and Delita Martin.
Cuban Artists: Julia Valdés Borrero, Luis Jorge Joa, Daylene Rodriquez Moreno, Caridad Ramos Mosquera, Zaida del Rio, Eduardo Roca Salazar (Choco), Alicia Leal Veloz, and Jorge Jacas Vivanco.
Artist
September 2 – November 18, 2017
artwork | artists’ talk | the artist’s | film | music | press
Artist
Wesley Clark was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts from George Washington University — where he was twice awarded the Morris Louis Fellowship in 2010 and 2011; a fellowship primarily awarded once per incoming graduate class.
Clark primarily creates mixed media wood assemblages that read as familiar to the general masses, and are often hybrids of two or more objects or concepts. He refers to these objects as artifacts or fictional artifacts, made to look as if they’ve lived a life prior to being on display and prompting viewers to question their importance and create their own narratives based on their experiences. Clark infuses social and politic criticisms into his works; merging the historical with the contemporary, to speak on issues faced by Blacks in America.
Wesley Clark has exhibited works at institutions such as the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, Washington D.C.; Columbia College Glass Curtain Gallery, Chicago, Illinois; and Prizm Art Fair, Miami, Florida during Art Basel.
Clark’s works, Target, 456 and Welcome to the Tea Party were acquired in 2013 by noted art collector, Peggy Cooper Cafritz . In 2016, he was commissioned by The American Alliance of Museums to create, Shift. Rotate. Repeat — a public artwork at the site of President Lincoln’s cottage in Washington, D.C. for museum week. Clark was a panelist for the Critical Craft Forum that took place at the College Arts Association 2016 conference. He has also been a guest lecturer at Capital City Public Charter School High School, in Washington, D.C. In addressing the student body, Clark offered insight on the creative process and the development of artwork, from conceptualization to materialization.
Clark has taught at George Washington University’s Columbian College/Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, teaching Introduction to Painting, Introduction to Drawing, and First year Studio 2D. He is a member of the D.C. based artists’ collective Delusions of Grandeur. Clark currently resides in Hyattsville, MD, with his wife and two beautiful children.
Press
Architectural Digest, June, 2020
Young Black Artists Speak About the Role of Art in This Moment by Nick Mafi
Groundbreaking artists such as Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Jammie Holmes and [Wesley Clark] discuss their work in the context of 2020, and what power art has to lead us toward a better tomorrow. full article
CULTUREVOLT, June, 2020
A Conversation with Wesley Clark, an American artist speaking on issues faced by Black people in America
I guess I’d consider myself on the latter end of emerging. Honestly, it’s not something I think about, though. I’ve never had the best interpretation of the various stages, but in my mind I probably feel like I’m forever emerging. full article
Baltimore Sun, July 3, 2017
A Hot Summer Exhibit at C. Grimaldis Gallery by Tim Smith
The powerful statements start right inside the doorway of the gallery’s main floor, where Wesley Clark’s “My Big Black America,” presented in cooperation with Galerie Myrtis, occupies 10-by-16 feet of wall space.full article
Nashville Arts Magazine, June 2017
In Wesley Clark’s solo exhibition he creates wonders that could be found in a fantastical library. Employing narrative devices such as foreshadowing, looking back, and mixing chronology, he casts light onto ideas shaping the past, present, and future full article
BMORE Art, June, 2016
Seeing Through the Lens of Black America by Angela Carroll
Wesley Clark, Larry Cook, Linda Day Clark, Oletha DeVane, Nehemiah Dixon III, Susan Goldman, Curlee Holton, Wayson R Jones, Jeffrey Kent, Wendel Patrick, Jamea Richmond-Edwards, and Stephen Towns each contribute critical, timeless inquiries which focalize the unsettling realities of black American experiences. full article
Artist
Face Off II (detail), Archival Ink Jet Print, 30″ x 40″, 2014 by Larry Cook
September 2 – November 18, 2017
artwork | artists’ talk | the artist’s | film | music | press
I chose to use the human heart painted Black as a means of representing the Black body. The heart being the core of the body, the drum whose rhythm keeps us moving while Black Americans are the cultural, spiritual, and biological vanguard. The God Seed depicts the biological, giving us a black heart as the nucleus with golden barbed wire as electrons. This speaks to the origins of civilization as we know it; with all roots leading to Africa. While science has proven every human carries DNA strands of the Black woman, we know it takes two to populate – making the Black woman and man the Mother and Father of civilizations. (It would almost seem the Black man is intentionally left out of the equation).
Dark Matter takes us to the astrological tying in cultural and spiritual ties. In science dark Matter is both theoretical, and invisible as it does not reflect light, yet helps to explain things like gravitational forces. These invisible forces I place correlation to that of “soul” – the style and movements of Black men in particular. From the music we’ve created, to how we style our clothing, to the way we strut down a sidewalk, our soul is magnetic. It is an attracting force people worldwide gravitate toward with hopes to bask in the feeling and replicate for themselves. This desire to be entangled in our soulfulness I interpret almost as a form of worship. Dark Matter is presented to the viewer as a salvaged relic-like object—broken and missing pieces yet preserved and placed on display for all to see. The rusted and broken hinges give the sense that this three-part panel was once connected, possibly unfolding from the center, offering a visual presence reminiscent of alters in catholic churches.
Factualism is simply a meditation on whom and what Black men truly are. It is meant as the antithesis of what pop culture and the news m/entertainment media present us as. It’s an exercise in defining oneself and taking hold of one’s own agency. It’s the presentation of another set of facts not often put on display. The words and ideas are given to the viewer in the form of a crossword puzzle to help think about how these ideas intersect and build off one another, giving viewers a new set of images to aid contextualizing their thoughts on Black men.
Do For Self and The Call pay homage to black liberation philosophies that arose out of organizations such as the Nation of Islam and the Moorish Science Temple. Each work references a sector of Black trade and industry that is a part of our cultural memory. In Do For Self, oil based colognes signify vendor customs established within the black community. In The Call, a reproduction of the Nation of Islam’s weekly The Final Call observes that recordings of personal histories within black community can equate to economic independence, self-worth, and empowerment.
“Johnnie Lee Gray’s Paintings in the Context of Jim Crow” Book title: Rising Above Jim Crow: The Paintings of Johnnie Lee Gray. Published by New York Life. Excerpt from essay written by Gwen Everett, PH.D.
The exhibition Black Man in a Black World couldn’t be more timely, when demonstrations of bigotry and hate are assigned the moral equivalency of people fighting for human dignity, equality and justice for all members of the human family. African Americans and all marginalized people need to be heard, recorded and acknowledged for what they have endured, for their significance, and for their strength. Through my paintings I consider historical and contemporary truths attempting to reveal the dignity, endurance, and genius of African Americans hoping to evoke dialogue and reflection on implicit bias and resulting perpetrated injustices committed towards people of color in this country.
In this body of work, it is my intent to “flip” the role of the Black Man from the degradation of subservience to the triumphant role of hero using images traditionally assigned to white males.
The Fighter exemplifies the Black Man’s clash against oppression, degradation and exploitation. The daily assaults and dog whistle status reminders requires nothing less than emotional resistance, determination and resilience.
Minstrel’s Guide this black harlequin harks back to the 1500s as he moves into the viewer’s space to then morph into the minstrel of the 1800-1900s. Minstrels were derogatory characterizations, created by the dominant culture as entertainment to ridicule blacks after the Civil War.
Sampson Brings Down the House recalls the biblical image of a white curly locked Sampson tearing down the temple. Here it is flipped, showing a Black Sampson tearing down the house of injustice. It is my intent to show the strength and prowess of the Black Man in overcoming enormous odds.
Push Back depicts the strong Black male pushing back against racism, bigotry, hatred, inequities, prejudice, discrimination, white supremacy, etc., etc…..
Strange Tale is based on the mythology of Europa and Jupiter, here used to represent the “peculiar institution” of slavery and its aftermath.
The work Sampson and the Lion is based on the biblical story of Sampson slaying the lion that roared against him, flipped here to show a strong Black Sampson combating oppression.
Growing up we feared for our lives. Dropping the wafers or chewing too fast would result in going to hell, so we would impersonate Jesus distributing the holy wafers, to practice receiving the Eucharist correctly. Ritz crackers were usually the practice food of choice to simulate the daunting experience, not to mention they were addictive. Since Jesus was white, according to Catholic imagery, a shirt was always used as a wig to help sell the idea of flowing hair.
Exhibitions
Tight Rope (detail), Oil on canvas, 40″ x 30″, 2014, by Arvie Smith
September 2 – November 18, 2017
artists’ talk | the artist’s | film | music | press
Black Man in a Black World features works by Wesley Clark, Larry Cook, Johnnie Lee Gray, and Arvie Smith. Through internal ruminations and visual explorations of historical perspectives and contemporary realities of blackness this exhibition offers individual and collective visions of the multi-faceted intersections of black male identity. Through multimedia presentations of painting, sculpture, printmaking, and photography Black Man in a Black World aims to center the black male perspective through the agency and distinctiveness of their own voices. The reclamation of ownership of the visual representations of black male consciousness and identity, by black male artists, requires the kind of boldness, passion, and honesty that has the power to viscerally ignite the soul and spark a transformation of self and community.
Film
Nothing But a Man (1964), 92 mins
October 8, 2017
2:00 – 4:00 pm
“Nothing But A Man” is the first of two films selected to screen in tandem with the exhibition “Black Man in a Black World.” Following the screening there will be a panel discussion with guest panelist Raél Jero Salley, and film curators Sterling Warren and Alexander Hyman, about the role of cinema in the historical and contemporary portrayal of black male identity.
Synopsis: A young black man in 1963 Alabama loves a minister’s daughter, works hard, and is put upon, oppressed, and called boy by everyone with whom he comes in contact; he wants to be nothing but a man. view trailer
Artists’ Talk
October 14, 2017
4:00 – 6:00 pm
Join Wesley Clark, Larry Cook and Arvie Smith for a lively discussion about their inspiration and thoughts about their artwork.
view past talks in our video library
Film
The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973), 102 mins.
November 11, 2017
2:00 – 4:00 pm
“The Spook Who Sat by the Door” is the second of two films selected to screen in tandem with our current exhibition “Black Man in a Black World.” Following the screening there will be a panel discussion.
Synopsis: The film tells a credible tale of a Black CIA agent who rebels against his role as a racial token and uses his training in counterrevolutionary tactics to organize a guerrilla group in Chicago to fight racism. The story proved so controversial that United Artists was content to let The Spook Who Sat by the Door sink out of sight, although it did attract an avid following among scholars and fans of African-American cinema.
view trailer
Artist
Video by 1982 Creative Studios – 1982creativestudios.com – Creative Chronicles – Ep.1 featuring Wesley Clark by Lawrence Miner
Artist
Wesley Clark was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in painting from Syracuse University and a Master of Fine Arts from George Washington University — where he was twice awarded the Morris Louis Fellowship in 2010 and 2011; a fellowship primarily awarded once per incoming graduate class.
Black Don’t Crack but it Sho’ Catch Hell, 2016
78” x 116” x 6”
Spray paint, latex, steel, wood
Artist
Scientists say that every time we recall a memory we are in fact re-creating that memory—altering it, making the memory more self-centered—while history, by some definitions, is the effort to establish a “true memory.” So can a true history exist if no true memory can be made?
This question provides the basis of my aesthetic and use of invented narratives to create fictional artifacts. The narratives I create play a “Question and Answer” role in my process and dictate the markings made. For example, I may ask myself, “Why is the paint peeling off? Was this gouge from an axe or a rock?” The answer, “This object was abandoned in an area that over time became the hangout for groups of teenagers. They harass the paint, throw bottles and rocks at it, marring the surface.” This “Question and Answer” role of narrative guides my aesthetic choices; I weather, distress and‚ “age” the objects as it coincides with the developing narrative. In the context of the gallery, this aesthetic is intended to make the viewer think “antique,” and speculate as to how the object was used, its history and value. However, it is not important that my narrative comes across to the viewer nor am I interested in fooling the viewer into thinking these objects are originals. I simply want to construct objects that viewers imagine as having a history—a history that never existed—while in the context of the gallery.
The foundation of the work is to challenge and draw parallels between historical and contemporary cultural issues. My primary focus surrounds blacks in America and the African Diaspora. I examine the psyche of young black males feeling like a target and being targeted. I question tradition or the lack of tradition and the role it plays on ones values today. Objects that are antiques or antiqued are associated with historical relevance and wealth. By placing these issues in an antiqued object I am establishing the value in furthering a discussion around a particular issue. Analyzing historic and present social and economic disparities are what shape my conceptual process.
Consideration of materials occurs as I invent the object’s life and history. The materials are selected as a means to tell the story and chosen for their accessibility and workability. New materials, such as plywood, clue the viewer in to the modernity of the work and that they are on stage. These material clues support a fictitious narrative prompting the viewer to work through their own invented narrative.
artwork: New York, New York (The Stop & Frisk Gameboard), 24” x 24”, oil paint, acrylic, spray paint, plywood, 2013