Fort Gansevoort opens an online exhibition of paintings from 1998-2019 by Willie Birch

The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Friday, March 29, 2024


Fort Gansevoort opens an online exhibition of paintings from 1998-2019 by Willie Birch
Willie Birch, A Dialogue with Martin Payton and Me, 2012\2013. 60 × 81 in. Acrylic and charcoal on paper.



NEW YORK, NY.- Fort Gansevoort is presenting Willie Birch: Paintings from 1998-2019, the gallery’s first exhibition with New Orleans-based artist Willie Birch. Born in 1942, Birch has dedicated his artistic practice to capturing the legendary spirit of his Louisiana community in works that depict the citizens and environments of his beloved hometown. This online exhibition is accompanied by a conversation between the artist and Dr. Leslie King Hammond, the artist, curator and art historian who is Founding Director of the Center for Race and Culture at the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she is also Graduate Dean Emeritus.

The multiple realities of New Orleans take center stage in the painterly compositions of Willie Birch. His work is part of a profound lineage, linked to that of Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, William Henry Johnson, Betye Saar, and other celebrated figures who have cultivated the tradition of African American narratives within the larger context of cultural history. In his monumental triptych Sunday Morning (2004), a centerpiece of this exhibition, Birch documents a service at his sister’s church. Here, we see congregants caught in the midst of a spiritual exercise, holding space for one another within a domain that is integral to their community. At the heart of Birch’s composition are two musicians, a drummer and a pianist, who provide the rhythm that animates their audience. With this work, Birch seeks to convey the power of these weekly gatherings to his community’s well-being, stating, “We can express ourselves on that day in the manner that we choose and, you know, life just goes forward. We have been nurtured because we have just validated ourselves.”

Specific subjects repeat throughout Willie Birch: Paintings from 1998-2019, and each one is consecrated by Birch’s creative vision. Dapper Young Man (1999) and Waiting for the Procession (1999) exemplify the artist’s meticulous approach to depicting the human form. Both of these environmental portraits feature well-dressed individuals whose confident self-possession confers a degree of authentic grandeur. The folds and grooves of the subjects’ attire drape their bodies elegantly, suggesting the distinctive pride unique to New Orleans natives. Dr. Leslie King Hammond describes Birch’s emphasis on the beauty of everyday people as a transcendental effort: “In the monumentality of Willie Birch’s imagery, the humanity and spirituality of these New World citizens…is revealed, a confirmation of majesty, cultural richness, and sense of personhood.”

Along with the people and traditions of New Orleans, Birch also captures the streets of the city, highlighting the architecture of the residences and everyday objects he sees as sacred devices. An Altar for Villere Street (2015) depicts a car parked outside of a home with its hood covered haphazardly by a tarp. This covering is secured with strings and a large rock, forming a layered, abstract composition that speaks to the process of creating an altar of one’s own. “I believe people make altars without even realizing they are making one because certain things are sacred to them,” Birch has remarked in reference to this painting. For the artist, such quotidian acts are divine in nature and can be understood as fundamental to the culture of New Orleans.

Birch conjures and shares the myriad forms of beauty present in his beloved hometown. Over the decades, he has chronicled its wealth of subjects with equal parts technical precision and emotional intellect, becoming an irreplaceable documentarian of New Orleans from his singular vantage point within its bedrock community. Birch is the embodiment of the late jazz patriarch Ellis Marsalis’ observation that “in New Orleans, culture doesn’t come down from on high, it bubbles up from the streets.”

Willie Birch was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1942. He has received a BA from Southern University and an MFA from the Maryland Institute College of Art. His work has been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans, LA; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY; Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA; Tucson Museum of Art, Tucson, AZ; Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, NC; Speed Museum, Lexington, KY; Hilliard Art Museum, Lafayette, LA; Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, Cleveland, OH; Museum of African American Art, Tampa, FL; and the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Scottsdale, AZ among others. Birch’s work is included in the public collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, AR; Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA; and the Speed Museum, Louisville, KY among others.










Today's News

May 28, 2021

New research reveals some of the earliest examples of human violence in the world

Andy Warhol: Machine Made: Sale of 5 unique NFTs totals $3.38M

The Vessel, a tourist draw, to reopen with changes after several deaths

Hindman Auctions to present Icons of Style: Summer Fashion & Accessories this June

Art Institute of Chicago debuts monumental Tiffany stained glass window

Mary Beth Edelson, feminist art pioneer, is dead at 88

They've given $6 million to the arts. No one knew them, until now.

Eric Carle, author of 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar,' dies at 91

Andrew Kreps Gallery now represents Uri Aran

From Oscar Wilde to suffragettes, new UK museum tells story of policing London

Italian ballet star Carla Fracci dies age 84

Christie's Design Sales total $17.4M

New exhibition explores Sigmund Freud's experience of the Spanish Flu pandemic

Freeman's announces results of Jewelry and Watches auction

Morris Museum President/CEO, Cleveland Johnson, announces plans for retirement

Samuel E. Wright, the voice of Sebastian in 'The Little Mermaid,' dies at 72

Fort Gansevoort opens an online exhibition of paintings from 1998-2019 by Willie Birch

Miles McEnery Gallery now representing Danny Ferrell

Broadway's Tony Awards, delayed by pandemic, set for September

Smithsonian museums set to reopen by September

New documentary storytelling photography exhibit connects, supports, and celebrates NYC neighbors

1856 bond certificate twice signed by Corenelius Vanderbilt sells for $11,250

Sir David Adjaye OBE receives 2021 Royal Gold Medal for Architecture

David Bates' 'Waterfall' leads Heritage Texas Art Auction above $774K

Dallas Museum of Art presents its 2021 Awards to Artists

Understanding how to make an oil painting landscape?

Steps to Getting a Divorce in North Carolina

Free PDF Business Plan Templates

Top Ways Women Are Using to Empower Other Women

Is Online Casino Legal in Singapore? - The Best Online Gambling Site




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez

sa gaming free credit
Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful