Looking Forward Reflecting Back

Jan 31 - Mar 28, 2009
Reception: Friday, Jan. 30st from 5:30-8:00
in the Marcellus Gallery

In celebration of Black History Month, the Kings Art Center is pleased to present the work of three established West Coast black artists; Manuelita Brown, Harris Hartsfield, and Raymond Haywood.

Manuelita Brown, a San Diego artist, creates work that is described as eclectic and authentically personal, incorporating subtle political statement in expressive, graceful, elegant form.  It is figurative, yet often with an abstract basis. Through three decades as wife, mother, and teacher (mathematics, not art) she has developed a sensitivity to universal human experiences, although her perspective as a woman is often evident.  If the viewer remarks, “that’s me—I feel just like that” or “I remember that—I’ve been there” or “I know her” then she has achieved a major goal. Manuelita particularly enjoys portrait sculpture—in the faces of people, she sees the wonder, the promise, and the majesty of creation.  While her goal is to contribute to American public sculpture works that edify human beings and the human spirit, she also wants the viewer of her work to respect the strength, the character, and the beauty of “my people--the descendants of African survivors in the Americas”. 

Harris Hartsfield is a photographer and has been a teacher of photography at the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles since 1998. A California Institute of the Arts graduate, receiving a BFA in1998, and a MFA in 2000. While at Cal Arts he worked in the Community Arts Partnership Program at the Los Angeles Center for Photographic Studies, and the Armory Center for the Arts in Pasadena, CA. In 1998 he taught black and white and color photography at the California State Summer School for the Arts at Cal Arts, and has been the photographer for that program since 2001. Harris’s work encompasses social documentary, landscape, astrophotography, and portraiture.  His exhibition list is long with a strong history of exhibits with the Topanga Canyon Gallery. He teaches black and white photography to his students at the Archer School for Girls, which includes portraiture, environmental, and documentary work. 
 
Since 1997 Harris is has been working on a photographic documentary project about Asbury Park New Jersey where he grew up, and he recently digitally self-published his first book, “Welcome to Asbury Park” in 2006. 

Raymond L. Haywood, Drawing on his training in painting, carpentry, quilt making, silkscreen printing, illustration, graphic design and collage, he melds techniques and materials to create bold, nontraditional images, with great passion and presence. The work expands beyond the limits of the frame, impacts the viewer immediately and demands a response. Although found objects are often used to create the art, the result is multi-layered and complex, reflecting Haywood's view of the intricate world in which we live.  
 
"Through my paintings, I attempt to share with the audience my experience of creating a moment in time that is ethereal and persistent. I generally work on a series of pieces, allowing chance to clarify ideas that are often lost when working on a single piece. I ritually prepare three to five sheets of paper with line drawings and certain stencils to facilitate a dialog between the work and myself. As I work, images and mood begin to coalesce as the composition of the piece takes shape." 
 
Raymond Haywood's paintings are uniquely created acrylic works on paper and canvas. His layered, textured work and approach is unparalled. Mr. Haywood designs symbols, creates stencils, then layers color and stencils into rich, moody, vibrant pieces. The layering and symbols speak to what it's like to be a minority in this country, while his style and content honor the resourcefulness of his African American ancestry. "Art, for me, is about emotions. You should feel something when viewing my work: passion, sadness, excitement, love, anger, something! If my work does not move you then I have not succeeded in my quest”. 

This outstanding exhibit is sponsored by James Carter Thomas, M.D.
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