Jimmy James Greene
A graduate of The Rhode Island School of Design, Jimmy James Greene is an artist and educator based in New York. Greene has exhibited his work in over thirty solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions. Greene also works as a commercial artist. Greene’s work explores the rich legacy of both the American black experience but also other parts of the African diaspora.
Greene worked as an apprentice with muralist Jon Onye Lockard. Lockard was a major influence on the developing of Greene’s artistic voice. Lockard was a painter during the Black Arts Movement. Greene followed in Lockard ‘s footsteps as a muralist and artist. One of the murals Greene created was commissioned by New York Transit Authority. The New York Transit Authority commissioned Greene to create the mural, The Children’s Cathedral. The mural is located at the Utica Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, New York.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
John Holeyfield
The inspiration for John Holeyfield’s art work comes from his childhood memories and stories told to him by his grandmothers. An orphan, he was raised by his grandmothers in the city of Clarksburg, West Virginia. His interest in art developed while he was in elementary school and his teachers encouraged him to pursue his artistic talent. Later he attended Howard University where he majored in art.
A nationally known artist, Holeyfield’s work captures the beautiful spirit of southern black rural life in America. One of the most collected African American artists, some have compared Holeyfield’s paintings to other well known artists who paint the beauty of everyday scenes of American life, such as Ernie Barnes, Norman Rockwell and Frederic Leighton.
Holeyfield is also a very successful book illustrator. Some of the books he has illustrated are “The Hard Tines-Jar” written by Ethel Footman Smothers, “Bessie Smith and the Night Riders” written by Sue Stauffacher, “Walking with Kings and Queens” written by Nina Nolan, “The Hallelujah Flight” written by Phil Bidner, and “Belle. The Last Mule at Gee’s Bend: A Civil Rights Story” by Calvin Alexander Ramsey and Bettye Stroud.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Samuel Louis ‘Sammie’ Nicely (1947-2016)
Samuel Louis ‘Sammie’ Nicely (b 1947-2016) was an Atlanta based artist and educator, known for his mixed media and pit fired masks that referenced African, Native American, and Southern and Appalachian art and culture. Nicley was born and raised in Russellville, Tennessee. He obtained his Bachelor of Science degree in art education from Middle Tennessee State University and earned his graduate degree in sculpture at the Aaowmont School School of Art and Crafts in Catinburg, Tennessee.
While Atlanta was where he lived, he still continued his connection with Eastern Tennessee. In 1986, Nicley and Jovita Wells founded the Form Africa to Appalachia Foundation whose mission is focused on the dedication to bring African American visual and performing arts to people living in Appalachia.
Nicely’s art work is in many museums and private collections and he has done several commissions, including the National Afro- American Museum, Jackson International Airport, Georgia State University, Nashville International Airport and the Hartsfield-Jackson-Atlanta International Airport for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
Howardena Pindell (1943-)
An artist, curator, and educator, Howardena Pindell (b 1943) uses color, texture, and structures in her abstract art work that addresses the issue of identity politics of racism and sexism. Also known for her videos, in 1980, Pindell talked about her experience being a Black woman and a Black artist in America in her video “Free. White and 21.” The video was the first one she made and it was her most famous one.
Pindelll moved to New York in 1967 after she graduated from Yale University with an MFA. It was after her move to New York that she began to work in abstraction, incorporating collage and developed a unique style in her work. By 1974, her paintings and mixed media work evolved into a 3D textural style. In 1971, she had an exhibition at Spelman College. Since then, Pindell has become one of America’s most important artists.
Howardena Pindell’s work is in numerous museums, institutions, and private collections including the High Museum of Art, the Fogg Museum, Museum of Modern Art, The Studio Museum of Harlem, and the Whitney Museum of American Art.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
LaVon Van Williams Jr. (1958-)
LaVon Van Williams Jr. (b 1958) is a fifth generation wood carver who was born in Lakeland, Florida. He grew up in Colorado and currently resides in Lexington, Kentucky. At the age of 15, Williams began to carve wood. His older brother Dave taught Williams the craft. Williams refers to his relief-wood sculptures as “Urban Folk Art.”
Williams graduated from the University of Kentucky where he earned a degree in sociology. He was recruited to play basketball there and in 1978, his team won the National Championship. After college, he played professional basketball in Japan and the UK.
After having several careers in the financial sector and as a teacher, Williams made the decision to attend art school. However, what he found was discouragement. One of his professors kept making comments that black artists did not have a future in the art world. Discouragement was something that many black students faced while majoring in art or taking art courses. Constantly hearing these remarks, Williams left the school but it did not stop him from pursuing art. Later, his mother and some of his former professors encouraged him to continue his dream of being an artist. With their encouragement, he started to crave wood again. He did, ignoring the conventional Eurocentric-focused notions about the art world.
Today, he is a successful artist in the self-taught folk and outsider genre. His work has been and is in several galleries, art fairs, private collections, and museum collections including the Hickory Museum of Art, Winston Salem State University, Jeanne Taylor Folk Art Gallery, Smithsonian Anacostia Museum, Outsider Art Fair in New York and the Kentucky Folk Art Center.
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These posts are sponsored by the Black Art In America Foundation as part of our continuous advocacy for African-American art.
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