Arnold J. Kemp exhibition explores nature, identity, history
LEFT: Arnold Kemp | What Actually Happens (See Black Say Red), 2013 | Archival pigment prints on Somerset paper in Artist’s frames | 43 ½ x 35 x 1 ½ in.
RIGHT: Arnold Kemp | What Actually Happens (See Blue Say White), 2013 | Archival pigment prints on Somerset paper in Artist’s frames | 22 x 18 ½ x 1 ½ in.
Images Courtesy of the artist and PDX Contemporary, Portland, OR
Georgia Southern University’s Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art presents Arnold J. Kemp: Public Evidence Spectator from September 29 – November 2 on-campus in the Contemporary Gallery of the Center for Art & Theatre. The exhibition includes an artist lecture Thursday, October 2, at 5 p.m. in the Visual Arts Building, Room 2071, followed immediately by an artist reception in the gallery. The events are free, and the public is welcome.
Kemp often utilizes various media to create objects that are immensely person and speak to what is both seen and unnoticed. Through the manipulation of materials, Kemp creates an environment that subtly confronts the viewer with notions of nature, identity, and history.
“This is an amazing opportunity for the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art,” said Marc Mitchell, former gallery director for the Department. “Arnold Kemp is an artist, poet, and educator who has achieved international acclaim. His works are provocative and insightful. However, they demand that they viewer spends time with the objects and engages in reflection.”
Arnold J. Kemp is an associate professor and the chair of painting and printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University. His work can be found in the collections of institutions such as The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York; Tacoma Art Museum; University of California-Berkeley Art Museum; and many others. He has been the recipient of several awards and grants, such as the Guggenheim Fellowship, Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship, and the Pollock Krasner Foundation Fellowship. He is represented by PDX Contemporary in Portland, Oregon.
For more information on this exhibition and other gallery programming provided by the Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art, visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu/cat.
Gallery Programming is supported by Student Activity Fees; all events are free and open to the public. In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, Georgia Southern University will honor reasonable requests for accommodations. The Center for Art & Theatre is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and by appointment.
The Betty Foy Sanders Department of Art is housed in the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Georgia Southern’s College of the Creative Mind. CLASS prepares its students to achieve academic excellence, develop their analytical skills, enhance their creativity, and embrace their responsibilities as citizens of their communities, nations, and world. For more information, visit GeorgiaSouthern.edu/class.