This October, the Gibbes Museum of Art is opening a new special exhibition, Romare Bearden: Abstraction. Along with the exhibit, the Gibbes will hold related virtual and in-person programs. Please see details below for Romare Bearden and other programming happening this October.
New Special Exhibition and related programming:
Romare Bearden: Abstraction, Oct. 15, 2021 – Jan. 9, 2022
The Gibbes Museum of Art will present Romare Bearden: Abstraction, a major traveling exhibition organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA) and the Neuberger Museum of Art of Purchase College, SUNY. On view at the Gibbes from October 15, 2021 – January 9, 2022, the exhibition presents important yet rarely seen works from American artist Romare Bearden’s prolific career. Bearden, born in Charlotte, NC, is recognized as one of the most creative and original artists of the 20th century. The traveling exhibition, which debuts at the Gibbes before presentations at venues across the country, will be on display in Gallery 8 & 9 on the museum’s third floor. Images:https://bit.ly/3hYKOCd
The Spaces Between: Tracy Fitzpatrick and Diedra Harris-Kelley on Romare Bearden: Abstraction | In-Person | Oct. 15 | noon – 1:00 pm
In this conversation, Tracy Fitzpatrick, Director of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, SUNY, and Bearden Exhibition Curator and Diedra Harris Harris-Kelley, Co-Director of the Romare Bearden Foundation, will talk about the artist’s abstractions, what they offer the understanding of Bearden’s body of work overall, and their relevance today.
Price: $20 Members | $30 Non-members | $10 Students/Faculty with Valid ID
Walter O. Evans on Romare Bearden | In-Person | Oct. 16 | 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Walter O. Evans, well known for his remarkable collection of 19th and 20th century African American artworks will join the Gibbes for a special presentation to coincide with the opening weekend of the exhibition Romare Bearden: Abstraction. Evans’ widely exhibited art collection includes more than 500 paintings, photographs, and sculptures by such major American masters as Bearden, Elizabeth Catlett, Aaron Douglas, Jacob Lawrence, Henry O. Tanner, Alma Thomas, Charles White, and many others. He will share his first-hand experiences with Bearden and the relationships he has developed on his journey as a collector.
Price: $20 Members | $30 Non-members | $10 Students/Faculty with Valid ID
Literary Gibbes Book Club Discussion | Virtual and In-Person | Oct. 22 | 1:00 – 2:30 pm
The Gibbes invites book lovers to join them for a book-club style discussion in collaboration with Charleston County Public Library, inspired by Romare Bearden: Abstraction. The discussion will focus on “The Way of Zen.” This book presents the origins, history, and principles of Zen that influenced Bearden’s abstract work.
Price: Free
Saturday Morning Art Camp for ages 7-10: Romare Bearden | In-Person | Oct. 23 | 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
In this session, students will learn about Romare Bearden and create artwork inspired by his unique abstract style. Using materials like magazines, newspaper, paints, yarn, and more, students will use geometric shapes, lines, and patterns to create an abstract collage. All materials will be included.
Price: $55 Members | $65 Non-members
Arts Integration Professional Development: Avoiding a “Single Story” | Virtual | Oct. 23 | 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Inspired by their exhibition Romare Bearden: Abstraction, join the Gibbes for a conversation on a new online publication The Reservoir: A Chronicle for Collective Change. Beginning in 2022, The Reservoir will publish critical reviews of youth books that prominently feature characters and people from historically marginalized communities, critical annotated bibliographies, and biographies of BIPoC who engage in this important work.
Price: Free
Romare Bearden: Abstraction Curator-led Tour with Sara Arnold | Virtual | Oct. 28 | 2:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Explore Romare Bearden: Abstraction virtually with Director of Curatorial Affairs, Sara Arnold. This tour will be streamed through Facebook Live and is free and open to the public.
Price: Free
Other Programming:
Visiting Artist: Daisy McClellan, Oct. 25 – Dec. 5
Daisy McClellan utilizes century-old traditional techniques like punch needle rug making and sewing in new and creative ways to create functional objects to be used every day. She strives to spark joy every time one of her creations is worn or used, by combining her modern and bright aesthetic with the warmth and richness these techniques allow. In today’s culture of consumerism and fast fashion, McClellan hopes her work can encourage appreciation for lasting handmade craftsmanship.
Visiting Artist: Susan Klein, Oct. 25 – Dec. 5
Susan Klein is an artist and curator living in Charleston, SC. She has shown her work nationally and internationally and has received many accolades throughout her career. She is currently an associate professor of art at the College of Charleston. During her residency, Susan Klein plans to work on mixed media paintings and drawings inspired by her sculptural work. The way that people imbue objects with the power to hold memory, tie the living to the dead, and connect past to present are ideas that influence Klein’s work.
Gibbes Film in Focus: Passing Strange, “An Imitation of Life” | In-Person | Oct. 1
A widow (Claudette Colbert) builds up a business, aided by a Black woman (Louise Beavers) with an incorrigible, fair-skinned daughter (Fredi Washington). The two women start a successful business, but subsequently face familial, identity and racial issues along the way. “An Imitation of Life” stars Fredi Washington, one of the first actresses of color to achieve recognition in stage and film in the 1920s and 30s. Her casting in this role is significant because she plays a Black woman who chooses to pass, and the actress herself was of African American descent.
Price: $10 Adults | $5 Students/Faculty with Valid ID
Gibbes Film in Focus: Passing Strange, “Devil in a Blue Dress” | In-Person | Oct. 23
In the summer of 1948, World War II veteran Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins (Denzel Washington) needs a job and becomes drawn into the search for a mysterious woman (Jennifer Beales).
Price: $10 Adults | $5 Students/Faculty with Valid ID
Storytime at the Gibbes | In-Person | Oct. 7 | 10:30 – 11:00 am
Join the Gibbes in collaboration with the Charleston County Public Library for Storytime. Families will enjoy stories and songs inspired by temporary exhibitions and works in the permanent collection in the Gibbes galleries. Designed for ages 2-5, but all families are welcome.
Price: Free
Charleston Symphony Orchestra: The French Impressionists | In-Person| Oct. 8 | 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Debussy to Ravel, the end of the 19th century marked a shift in musical styles and the rhetoric of Romanticism. Join the Gibbes for a special concert inspired by the exhibition Light Effects: The French Impressionists and featuring the Charleston Symphony Orchestra that will put these iconic composers in conversation with the French masters.
Price: $30 Members | $40 Non-members
Gullah Geechee Language and Sweetgrass Basket Weaving with past Visiting Artist Antwon Ford | In-Person | Oct. 16 | 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Participants in this workshop will be introduced to the basics of the Gullah Geechee language. They will also learn about the history of Sweetgrass Basket weaving and the connection to West Africa. Participants will be able to begin the creation of their own Sweetgrass Basket to take home with them. The materials used in the workshop will be pine needles, sweetgrass, and palm. Upon completion of the workshop, participants will have a basic understanding of the Gullah Geechee Language and a newfound appreciation of the art of Sweetgrass Basket weaving and the Gullah Geechee Culture.
Price: $95 Members | $120 Non-members
Western Medieval Art, 4th century AD-1400 | In-Person | Oct. 19 & 26 | 11:30 am – 1:00 pm
Participants will join Dr. Steve Gavel, art historian, collector, and archaeologist, for this next installment of our art historical lecture course covering Early Christian, “Dark Age,” Carolingian and Ottonian, Romanesque, Gothic, and early Renaissance art.
Price: $175 Members | $200 Non-members
Ongoing special exhibitions:
Light Effects: The French Impressionists, Sept. 3, 2021 – Feb. 20, 2022
The works of French masters Edgar Degas, Paul Cézanne, Auguste Renoir, Paul Gauguin, and others drawn to the short loose brushstrokes, bright colors, and focus on modern life that became the language of Impressionism are highlighted in this exhibition. Featuring artworks from private collections located across the country, including Charleston, this show is part of the Gibbes collectors’ exhibition series and is organized with the assistance of The Fine Art Group. Images: https://bit.ly/3A5hNfr
-Submitted by The Gibbes Museum