The California African American Museum (CAAM) kicks off two highly anticipated exhibitions featuring a wide array of culturally relevant artwork, beginning with “Promises of Freedom: Selections from the Arthur Primas Collection,” which opened April 19 and runs through Sept. 2, 2012; and “Visual Rhythms,” which opens today and runs through July 1, 2012.
“Promises of Freedom: Selections from the Arthur Primas Collection” showcases 74 of the 600 pieces, featuring paintings, sculptures and works on paper, and covering 150 years of Black culture, dating back to the Haitian Revolution. Among the artists included are Charles White, Elizabeth Catlett, Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence.
“Visual Rhythms” will feature recently accessioned art to CAAM’s permanent collection, in addition to showcasing pieces that have not been on display for more than a decade, as well as objects that have never been on view. The exhibit presents a broad range of styles while departing from a literal, realistic representation. The artists who created these pieces searched for and emphasized movement, shape, line, pattern and color in their compositions.
The exhibition displays paintings, collages, prints, quilts and other textiles and features artists such as Benny Andrews, Phoebe Beasley and Michael Cummings, as well as artists of other ethnicities such as Joan Miró and Pablo Picasso donated by African American collectors.
All CAAM exhibitions and educational programs are free and open to the public. CAAM is located at 600 State Drive, Exposition Park, Los Angeles, 90037. For more information about CAAM, please visit www.caamuseum.org.
Current exhibitions in the CAAM galleries:
“Justice Balance and Achievement: African Americans” and the California Courts, ongoing through May 27, 2012.
“Women Game Changers, Less Known, Here Celebrated” through June 10, 2012.
“The Legacy of the Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company: More Than a Business,” through March 3, 2013.
