“Beautiful Black,” which features artworks by contemporary Black artists from all over the world, is open January 9 through February 23 in the west gallery of the Hastings College Jackson Dinsdale Art Center.
“‘Beautiful Black’ is among the most significant, timely and thought-provoking shows that have ever been presented at Hastings College,” said Turner McGehee, professor of art and curator of the Hastings College Permanent Collection of Art. “One will be unlikely to see a more sophisticated and attractive exhibition in any museum or gallery this year.”
The show is drawn from the private collections of Kathryn and Marc LeBaron and Karen and Robert Duncan, who have acquired the works over the course of more than three decades of collecting. Their choices have been guided by a visceral, informed attraction to the objects.
The works range from Gordon Parks’ famous photograph, “At Segregated Drinking Fountain, Mobile, Alabama, 1956” to “Passing/Posing (The Revenge of Consumption),” a 2003 painting by Kehinde Wiley to “I Love You This Much,” a 2016 mixed media piece by Vanessa German. Plus more than 20 other selections.
While College offices are closed on Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 15), the gallery will be open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Gallery Hours, Talk
The gallery is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., plus from noon to 3:00 p.m. on Saturdays for this exhibition. The JDAC is located at 700 E. 12th Street in Hastings.
A gallery talk is Saturday, January 27, from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. It will feature Peggy Jones, associate professor and associate director of Women’s and Gender Studies of the University of Nebraska Omaha; Anne Pagel, curator of the Robert and Karen Duncan Collection and the “Beautiful Black” exhibition; and McGehee. A reception follows the talk and goes until 5:00 p.m.
The gallery, gallery talk and reception are all free and open to the public.
The exhibition is supported by the Hastings College Department of Visual Arts, the Hastings College Foundation and the Hastings Arts Council.
Hastings College is a four-year residential college that focuses on student academic and extracurricular achievement. Discover more at hastings.edu.
