October 12, 2018
Pindell’s journey presented at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is unique to the artist but not unusual. We’ve heard the tale: the impressive work ethic of a brilliant black mind, occupying double roles, only to still fall short on respect from her white colleagues as well as the white-dominant art world. Pindell worked as…
August 21, 2018
Howardena Pindell has consistently broken new ground during her five-decades-long artistic career. In 1967, she was the first female African American to graduate from Yale University’s MFA program then began working as the first female black curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Her diverse body of art—from abstract canvases to photography…
April 12, 2018
Esther Mahlangu, whose dazzling, mural-size paintings provide a gateway to the VMFA African art galleries, has just been awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Johannesburg for “her legacy as a cultural entrepreneur and educator, skillfully negotiating local and global worlds.” Dr. Mahlangu, the most renowned artist of South Africa’s Ndebele people, developed the…
December 15, 2016
A lively spontaneity results from this approach, revealing the human touch of creation. No straight edge is used, no tape. Just the eye and the hand—although it’s important to mention the acrobatics and exertion also! Esther and Marriam painted standing, sitting, kneeling, and even reclining on scaffolding, ladders, and the floor. All the climbing was…
April 28, 2015
In 2014, VMFA commissioned South African artist Esther Mahlangu to create two large-scale paintings for the museum’s collection. The most renowned artist among South Africa’s Ndebele people, Mahlangu has developed the art of mural painting from a tradition of designs painted on the exterior of rural homes to projects created in a global, contemporary art…
February 3, 2015
In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the VMFA Visual Arts Fellowship program, we will be running a series of stories about the impact of these Fellowships on select recipients over the past 15 years. Please watch this blog for future stories. Alyssa Salomon: Winning Two Fellowships Took Her Work to New Levels Winning VMFA…
September 5, 2014
Few people have watched the creation of a work of art that is a part of a museum’s permanent collection. However, as of today, VMFA gives you that unique opportunity as renowned South African artist Esther Mahlangu paints two mural-scale works to serve as a gateway to the museum’s African Art Gallery. These 9- by…
November 10, 2010
VMFA guest, Carolyn Gabb, was recently inspired during one of our Jazz Café evenings and composed this poem describing her fifty-five year relationship with the museum. BYSTANDERCarolyn GabbIn a chair by the window,Glass of wine in hand, I watch the band.Reflectively…in a pane of glass across the room.Tens of circular tables captureconversations and stories,lives of individuals,a core…
