Celebrating Our Legacy: The 20th Anniversary Exhibition of Art in the Atrium
WHEN: January 13 – March 18
WHERE: Morris Museum, 6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Art in the Atrium, New Jersey’s premier annual African-American fine art show, is partnering with the Morris Museum to present the Celebrating Our Legacy exhibition and opening reception. The exhibition features the work of Abstract Expressionist artist Norman Lewis and twenty-nine other African-American artists. The guest curator for the exhibition is Tarin M. Fuller.
About Art in the Atrium
Art in the Atrium, Inc. (ATA) is a non-profit arts organization located in Morris County, New Jersey, that showcases fine art by established and emerging African-American artists through an annual exhibition, the largest of its kind in New Jersey. ATA’s mission is to increase community understanding and awareness of African-American art and artists.
About Featured Artist Norman Lewis (1909 – 1979)
Norman Wilfred Lewis was born in Harlem, New York, to Bermudian immigrant parents. A skilled painter, sculptor, tailor, pianist, dancer, puppeteer, and educator with a passion for drafting, calligraphy and needlepoint, Lewis was the first major African-American member of the art movement known as Abstract Expressionism. As such, he occupies a unique position in the canon of American art. Although he was active in the New York political culture for much of his life, he sought to develop an abstract painting style that transcended socio-political issues, stating, "I am not interested in an illustrative statement that merely mirrors some of the social conditions, but in my work I am looking for something of deeper artistic and philosophic content." Norman Lewis enjoyed a long and prolific career that spanned decades, achieving notable milestones and ground-breaking exhibits, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, and the Whitney Museum. (Above: Untitled, 1947, Norman Lewis, Collection of Tarin Fuller)
Exhibiting Artists
- Alonzo Adams
- Benny Andrews
- Romare Bearden
- Terry Boddie
- Barbara Bullock
- Bisa Butler
- Leroy Campbell
- Elizabeth Catlett
- Willie Cole
- Viki Craig
- Jose Cruz
- David Driskell
- Sam Gilliam
- Nora Green
- Curlee Raven Holton
- Norman Lewis
- Thomas Malloy
- Don Miller
- Maceo Mitchell
- Russell Aldo Murray
- Rosalind Nzinga Nichol
- Janet Taylor Pickett
- Marsha Pickett
- Faith Ringgold
- William Tolliver
- Cedric Smith
- Jimmy Lee Sudduth
- Bisa Washington
- Charles White
- Deborah Willis
Special Programs
- Opening Reception: January 12, 6:30 – 9:00 PM FREE Enjoy light refreshments and a lecture by artist Janet Taylor Pickett about the history of Art in the Atrium.
- African-American Art Lecture Series
FREE with museum admission. Registration is required, please call 973.971.3718.
February 4, 2012, 1:00-2:00 PM. Rosalind Nzinga Nichol, artist and educator, will discuss the African origins of African-American arts and crafts
February 25, 2012, 1:00-2:00 PM. Rosalind Nzinga Nichol, artist and educator; and Tarin M. Fuller, guest curator for Celebrating our Legacy: The 20th Anniversary Exhibit of Art in the Atrium, will examine the early African-American masters of fine arts from the 18th century through the Harlem Renaissance.
March 8, 2012, 6:30-7:30 PM. Rosalind Nzinga Nichol, artist and educator; and Halima Taha, art advisor and appraiser, will speak about the art of collecting contemporary African-American art. (Above: Rosalind Nzinga Nichol, Photo: O. Florian Jenkins) - Museum Curator’s Highlights Tour
February 9, 2012 6:30 PM. $7
Join Morris Museum Associate Curator Angela Sergonis for a highlights tour of featured exhibitions, including Celebrating Our Legacy. - Senior Friday Tour Free with museum admission
February 17 at 1:00 PM
A museum educator leads a tour and discussion of the Celebrating our Legacy exhibition.
About the Morris Museum
The Morris Museum is an award-winning, community-based arts and cultural institution which serves the public through the presentation of high caliber permanent and changing exhibitions in the arts, sciences and humanities. The Museum also offers educational programs, family events, and is home to the Bickford Theatre and its wide range of performing arts offerings. Continuously serving the public since 1913, the Morris Museum has been designated a Major Arts Institution and has received the New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ Citation of Excellence, among other awards. In 2013 the museum will celebrate its Centennial Anniversary. These programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; the F.M. Kirby Foundation and the New Jersey Cultural Trust. (Above: Tarin M. Fuller, Photo: WBGO Gallery)
The Museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown, NJ, and is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 11 AM to 5 PM; Thursday, 11 AM to 8 PM; and Sunday, 1-5 PM. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults and $7 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is always free for museum members and is free to the public every Thursday between 5 and 8 PM. For more information, call 973.971.3700, or visit www.morrismuseum.org.
