워싱턴 D.C.의 필립 컬렉션(DC)이 흑인여성작가 알마 토마스 회고전(10/30-1/23, 2022)을 연다. 알마 토마스는 1972년 80세에 흑인작가 최초로 휘트니뮤지엄에서 회고전을 연 바 있다. 이 회고전에 맞추어 DC의 내셔널 갤러리(National Gallery of Art)는 오는 9월 22일부터 26일까지 알마 토마스 심포지엄을 연다. 

 

 

Alma Thomas,Pansies in Washington, 1969

 

ALMA W. THOMAS: Everything Is Beautiful

 

OCTOBER 30, 2021-JANUARY 23, 2022

Phillips Collection, Washington D.C. 

 

Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful provides a fresh perspective on the artist’s dynamic long life (1891-1978) and multifaceted career that was defined by constant creativity. This major retrospective traces her journey from semi-rural Georgia to Washington, DC, to becoming the first Black woman given a solo show at the Whitney Museum of American Art at age 81. Through artworks and archival materials, this exhibition demonstrates how Thomas’s wide-reaching artistic practices extended far beyond her studio, shaping every facet of her life—from community service, to teaching, to gardening.

 

In 1907, Thomas and her family migrated from Columbus, Georgia, to DC, and by 1924, she became the first art department graduate at Howard University. A constant learner, she studied the latest developments in art, visiting museums in New York, Europe, and DC, including The Phillips Collection. For 35 years and in a segregated city, she empowered art students at Shaw Junior High School to see beauty in the everyday and brought exhibition opportunities and cultural enrichment to Black youth.

 

Thomas’s home located at 1530 15th Street, NW, was her artistic epicenter. There, she created small watercolors, aerial landscapes, and brightly patterned large-scale abstractions that reflect her local surroundings, her fascination with space, and her dedication to the environment. Along with these themes, the exhibition explores her interests in performance, puppetry, costume design, and fashion.

 

Everything Is Beautiful contextualizes Thomas’s art and life within her creative community, delving into her association with Howard University, American University, and the Barnett Aden Gallery, which she helped co-found. Some of her works are placed alongside examples by her friends and contemporaries like Loïs Mailou Jones and Morris Louis who also helped shape the DC art scene. The exhibition offers an intimate look at this inspiring cultural icon who used her imagination and ingenuity to lead a rich and beautiful life.

 

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Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful is co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art and The Columbus Museum, Georgia.

 

Aflac is proud to sponsor Alma W. Thomas: Everything Is Beautiful. The exhibition has also been made possible in part by major support from the Henry Luce Foundation, the Andy Warhol Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts

https://www.phillipscollection.org

 

 

*알마 토마스(Alma Thomas, 1891-1978)

http://www.nyculturebeat.com/?mid=Art2&document_srl=3840197