A solo-exhibition of new work of Afrofuturism and beyond by Algernon Miller opens September 8 through October 28, 2023 at the Jamestown Arts Center. Coming and Going: New Work by Algernon Miller is curated by Bob Dilworth and Karen Conway and features 14 paintings by the artist from 2022 and 2023.
Al Miller states: “This new body of work focuses on abstract painting as the foundation upon which everything else is constructed. It is where work and play are combined, it’s my Ground Zero. I then layer patterns and codes to create a synthesis of painting with the illusion of dimensionality, the coming and going of all things in space and time and where past, present, and future exist simultaneously.”
Al Miller’s work draws on sacred geometry, numerology, and the structures of nature, science and architecture, and he frequently references African and African-American artistic heritage, such as beading and quilting traditions. Yet, his use of new technologies traverses the so-called digital divide that associates blackness with technological disadvantage. Along with many Afrofuturist thinkers, he is conscious of a long line of “Blacks in Science,” under-recognized black inventors and innovators, and he experiments with sound, kinetic energy, solar-power, 3D animation, and holography. His emphasis on light, both represented and used as an artistic medium, undermines historical associations of blackness with darkness, and reinforces Afrofuturist metaphysical concepts.
Al Miller is a leading figure in the intellectual wing of Afrofuturist art. Educated at the School of Visual Arts (1965-67) and The New School (1967-68) during America’s cultural revolution. Deeply influenced by African studies and Afrocentric writings, Miller evolved what he calls a “transformationist” consciousness that synthesizes past, present, and future.
Miller’s works are in several prominent collections, and have been featured at New York’s Museum of Arts & Design (MAD), the New Museum, the Whitney, The Studio Museum, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and in France at the Espace Lyonnais d’Art Contemporain, Lyon, among others.
Free Opening Reception on Friday, September 8 from 5:30-7:30 pm. On Sunday, September 10 at 4 pm there will be a JAC Talk with the artist Al Miller and curator Bob Dilworth. ($10 tickets available at jamestownartcenter.org/events)
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