Frist Art Museum presents companion exhibitions celebrating David C. Driskell and his contemporaries
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Tuesday, March 18, 2025


Frist Art Museum presents companion exhibitions celebrating David C. Driskell and his contemporaries
David C. Driskell. Five Blues Notes, 1980. Painting; 32 x 39 3/4 in. The
David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, College Park. Gift of Nene Humphrey from the Benny Andrews and Nene Humphrey Collection, 2010.06.020. © David C. Driskell/David C. Driskell Center.



NASHVILLE, TENN.- The Frist Art Museum presents David C. Driskell & Friends: Creativity, Collaboration, and Friendship, an exhibition that traces the artist’s career and his relationships with contemporaries. It is being shown concurrently with Kindred Spirits: Intergenerational Forms of Expression, 1966–1999, an exhibition that explores the legacy and influence of Fisk University’s art department, which Driskell led from 1966 to 1976.


Celebrate a master of American art! Purchase "Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking" and own a comprehensive look at David C. Driskell's printmaking journey.


Organized by the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, David C. Driskell & Friends is on view in the Frist’s Upper-Level Galleries from March 14 through June 1, 2025. During the same dates, Kindred Spirits, organized through a partnership between Fisk University Galleries and the Frist, is on view at both locations.

David C. Driskell & Friends highlights the artistic legacy of David C. Driskell (1931 2020) and the importance of his relationships with fellow artists—many of whom hold a significant place in the 20th- century art canon, such as Romare Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Earl J. Hooks, Jacob Lawrence, Alma W. Thomas, Kara Walker, Hale Woodruff, and many others. In total, there are more than 70 artworks by 35 prominent African American artists, as well as ephemera from the Driskell Papers that exemplify the artists’ unique friendships.

“We are proud to bring Driskell’s story back to Nashville, a city that played a central role in his journey,” writes Frist Art Museum Associate Curator Michael Ewing. “While many envision the modern artist as solitary, Driskell’s career tells a different story one rooted in collaboration and community. As an artist, educator, curator, and historian, Driskell championed and elevated African American art, emphasizing the importance of both individual achievement and collective support.”

Driskell’s collaborations shaped his artistic vision. He was instrumental in organizing solo exhibitions for artists including Bearden, Catlett, Hooks, and Thomas. He also played a key role in curating retrospectives for figures like Claude Clark and Aaron Douglas.

In 1976, Driskell curated the groundbreaking exhibition Two Centuries of Black American Art, which was foundational for the field of African American art history. Organized for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, it also traveled to Atlanta’s High Museum of Art, the Dallas Museum of Art, and the Brooklyn Museum. The exhibition received widespread recognition, and its accompanying catalogue remains a key text for artists and scholars of African American art. Many of the artists featured in Two Centuries of Black American Art are included in David C. Driskell & Friends.

Originally conceived by Dr. Sheila Bergman (University of California, Riverside), Curlee Raven Holton (former director The David C. Driskell Center), and Heather Sincavage (Wilkes University), the exhibition’s presentation at the Frist was overseen by Michael Ewing. The collaborative effort behind this showcase mirrors the ethos it seeks to celebrate, emphasizing the interconnectedness that defined Driskell’s artistic legacy.

Kindred Spirits: Intergenerational Forms of Expression, 1966–1999

Kindred Spirits examines and celebrates a critical period spanning David C. Driskell’s tenure as chair of Fisk University’s Art Department (1966–1976) and the overlapping tenure of artist and educator Earl J. Hooks (1968–1999). Organized through a partnership between Fisk University Galleries and the Frist Art Museum, this exhibition showcases more than 50 art objects and archival materials, including recordings of oral interviews, and spans gallery spaces at both the Frist and Fisk University’s Carl Van Vechten Gallery and at the John Hope and Aurelia E. Franklin Library Special Collections.

The year 1966 marked the centennial of Fisk University, the oldest institution for higher learning in Nashville. It also represented a moment of transition after the retirement of Aaron Douglas, founder and chair of Fisk’s Art Department and a leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance. The appointment of Driskell as Douglas’s successor ushered in a broadening view of the African diasporic arts. “Driskell’s vision aimed at expanding the department by hiring additional full- and part-time professors, establishing visiting-artist and artist-in-residency programs, planning a progressive exhibition schedule, and securing a dedicated building that would serve both the university and the Nashville community,” write exhibition co- curators Michael Ewing and Jamaal B. Sheats, director and curator of Fisk University Galleries.

This vision was shared and further realized by faculty members such as Robert Hall, Earl J. Hooks, Stephanie Pogue, and Greg Ridley, among others. “Kindred Spirits celebrates this lineage of artist- educators, their exchange of ideas, and their modes of expression across generations. This spirit born in Nashville continues to manifest itself through the canons of art history today,” write Ewing and Sheats.

David C. Driskell (1931–2020) helped to advance the field of African American art history and was one of its leading authorities. Born in Eatonton, Georgia, Driskell grew up in North Carolina. An art major at Howard University, Driskell studied with James A. Porter and Loïs Mailou Jones, professors who profoundly impacted his future career. In 1953, he received a scholarship to attend the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine. He remained a pivotal member of the prestigious school’s community for decades to come, serving on the board of governors (1975–89) and boards of trustees (1989–2002); he also maintained a studio practice each summer in Fairmont, Maine. In 1962, Driskell earned an MFA degree from the Catholic University of America. The recipient of numerous fellowships, awards, and prizes, he also held 13 honorary doctoral degrees in art.

Driskell was also an influential educator, teaching at Talladega College, Howard University, Fisk University, and finally the University of Maryland. In 2001, the University of Maryland established the David C. Driskell Center, which honors Driskell by preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture.

Driskell’s time at Fisk University marked a pivotal chapter in his career. As an associate professor and later the chair of the Art Department, he profoundly shaped the university and Nashville’s art scene. Through groundbreaking exhibitions, visiting artist programs, and artist-in-residence initiatives, he broadened the understanding of the African and African American visual art canons.


Artdaily participates in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help us continue curating and sharing the art world’s latest news, stories, and resources with our readers.










Today's News

March 15, 2025

The early years: A major exhibition of works by Marc Chagall opens in Dusseldorf

Lark Mason Associates unveils blockbuster quartet of Asian art sales on iGavelAuctions.com

Frist Art Museum presents companion exhibitions celebrating David C. Driskell and his contemporaries

Miller & Miller announces online-only Firearms & Sporting Auction, March 29th

The Brooklyn Museum opens a retrospective exhibition of Consuelo Kanaga

Xippas Paris exhibition blends Japanese mythology and crochet art

Eija-Liisa Ahtila's new work Reflection of a Forest on view at Serlachius

Maximilian Kirmse's raw depictions of everyday Berlin on view at Haverkampf Leistenschneider

Large-denomination notes from India, Suriname and German East Africa reach for spotlight at Heritage

Exhibitions of works by Erwin Wurm, Marius Glauer, Anna Breit and Šejla Kamerić open in Linz

Christie's appoints Julien Pradels as Regional President of the Americas

Christie's announces highlights included in online sales series Collections, New York, London and Paris

Sophie Thun's "Wet Rooms": Darkroom revelations and autofictional narratives in Swiss debut

Secession's "White Cube" transformed: Yuki Okumura's site-specific projects humanize the Hauptraum

Skyscrapers by the Roots: Reflections on Late Modernism at Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal

Salzburger Kunstverein launches "Picturing Justice" program with earth-focused exhibitions

Kunstmuseum Stuttgart presents Christian Marclay's "The Clock"

Textile miniatures and Latin American memes: Double exhibition explores time and materiality

Aslı Torcu's "Touched by Image" explores memory and uncertainty at Pi Artworks Istanbul

"Holding Still, Holding On": CMU and The Warhol Museum co-present new MFA works

Paul Thiebaud Gallery opens 'Kim Frohsin: Selected Figures from the 1990s'

Dutch master Co Westerik's US debut: Fergus McCaffrey unveils existential landscapes

South African legend Esther Mahlangu's solo show: A 90-year-old pioneer continues to innovate




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
(52 8110667640)

Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Houston Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

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