During a recent trip to New York City earlier in the month, we had the opportunity to visit Bill Hodges small gallery at 24 West 57th. The gallery specializes in the work of African American artists and features the work of well-known contemporary artists such as Carrie Mae Weems, Norman Lewis and Romare Beardon.
In the mid-70s Hodges became a patron of African American artists, and the gallery, one of the only African American-owned and operated galleries located in the mid-town Manhattan, gives visual testimony of the not only the art he loves but his patrons as well.
We had the opportunity to check out the gallery’s newest exhibition Of Now and Before: A Selection of Recent Acquisitions to the Gallery by Various Artists on view through June 26, 2010. The exhibition includes artwork from Demetrius Oliver, Lorna Simpson, Jacob Lawrence, Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe, Romare Bearden, John Biggers, Carrie Mae Weems, Bob Thompson, James MacDonald Barsley, and Norman Lewis.
The work is vibrant and varied, representing some of the best works by these artists in one room. Check out some of the recent acquisitions by the gallery here.
Below are highlights of the visit featuring Sharon Burton of Authentic Contemporary Art. Special thanks to our friend, Valerie Cooper of Picture That, LLC for accompany us on the visit.
Sharon in front of the entrance to the suite of galleries where Bill Hodges Gallery is located.
At Bill Hodges Gallery entrance…
Sharon and Bill Hodges, owner of the gallery.
Upper Room, 1984 by John Biggers, Lithograph Ed. 4/50
L to R: Louisiana Serenade (Jazz Series), 1979 Color Lithograph by Romare Bearden, Untitled, 1974
Oil on Paper by Norman Lewis, and Aspiration, Undated Lithograph Ed. by Jacob Lawrence
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