Ed Clark Exhibition Opening & Artist Reception
Friday, October 14
6PM – 9PM
This exhibition is presented as a part of our 35 Years celebration: Ed Clark was one of the first artists to be exhibited by George N’Namdi in a New York Abstract Artists group show at Jazzonia (the first N’Namdi gallery) and was an essential part in fostering and educating N’Namdi’s interest and knowledge in the art world. The show will be on display through January 20, 2017.
Clark is a nationally and internationally recognized artist, and one of the most notable African-American artists of his generation. This summer Clark celebrated his 90th birthday and is visiting Detroit. This is your opportunity to meet this eminent artist, as he will be at the reception.
Ed Clark (b. 1926) was a native of Louisiana but moved to Chicago, IL at an early age. He left high school to join the U.S Air Force at the age of 17. In 1947, after service in Guam, he settled back in Chicago. The GI Bill enabled Clark to enroll at the Art Institute of Chicago that year. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, he studied abroad in Paris at the L’Académie de la Grande Chaumière. Clark moved to New York and helped co-found a gallery in SoHo in 1957. His trademark brushstroke and vibrant contrasting colors exude confidence, intuition, and a mastery of gestural control and materials.
Collections: N’Namdi Collection, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Arts, Studio Museum in Harlem, MAM-Museum of Modern Art in Bahai (Brazil), MoMA, Museum of Modern Art in NYC.
Exhibitions: Whitney Biennial, 1973; Retrospective, Studio Museum in Harlem, 1980; Explorations in the City of Lights: African-American Artists in Paris, 1945-1975, Studio Museum in Harlem, 1996; Blues for Smoke, Whitney Museum of American Art, 2013.