Robert Pruitt Awarded Wein Prize & National Portrait Gallery Commission | Article Courtesy of Koplin Del Rio Gallery Gallery
We're delighted to share the news that artist Robert Pruitt was selected by Venus Williams to create her portrait for the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington as part of the institution’s Portrait of a Nation Award. The finished work is included below, as well as a link to the New York Times feature covering the project and the process.
Portrait of a Nation
The National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
November 10, 2022 - October 22, 2023
Read more in The New York Times
Venus Williams, Double Portrait, 2022
Conté crayon, charcoal, pastel, and coffee wash on paper
“My hope is that the duality of the portrait gives us this sense of a person looking back at themselves, considering where they came from and where they’re going.”
-Robert Pruitt
Robert Pruitt Awarded the Wein Artist Prize
Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize 2021 & 2022
Studio Museum in Harlem
Robert is one of two recipients of the Joyce Alexander Wein Artist Prize for 2021 & 2022. The Artist Prize recognizes and honors the artistic achievements of an African American artist who demonstrates great innovation, promise, and creativity. In keeping with Joyce and George Wein's support for living artists, the Wein Prize is envisioned as an extension of the Studio Museum's mission to support experimentation and excellence in contemporary art.
Congratulations, Robert!
Photo credit: Brandon C. Luckain
A Movement in Every Direction opens in Baltimore
A MOVEMENT IN EVERY DIRECTION:
LEGACIES OF THE GREAT MIGRATION
Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
through January 29, 2023
"A Movement in Every Direction: Legacies of the Great Migration" continues at the Baltimore Museum of Art and several other major institutions. The exhibition, co-curated by Ryan Dennis (MMA) and Jessica Bell Brown (BMA) "explores the profound impact of the Great Migration on the social and cultural life of the United States from historical and personal perspectives. Co-organized with the Baltimore Museum of Art, the exhibition features newly commissioned works by 12 acclaimed Black artists across a variety of media. The Great Migration (1915-1970) saw more than six million Black Americans leave the South for cities across the United States. Informed by research, explorations, and conversations, the artists’ works explore themes of perseverance, self-determination, and self-reliance, along with the impacts this historical phenomenon continues to have today." See below for Robert's monumental and ambitious contribution to the show, "A Song for Travelers."
Image detail: A Song for Travelers
A Song for Travelers (full image), 2022, Conté, charcoal and pastel on paper, mounted onto four wooden panels 84 in x 240 in (overall); 84 in x 60 in (each panel), Photo credit: Adam Reich
New York Times | “For Black Artists, the Great Migration Is an Unfinished Journey"
The Dirty South: Contemporary Art, Material Culture and Sonic Impulse
Curated by Valerie Cassel Oliver
Museum of Contemporary Art Denver
Tennis shoes & broken glass
Private Collection
