What’s in a Boxing Glove?

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Experiment Station

Whitfield Lovell, Bleck, 2008. Conté crayon on wood and boxing gloves, 44 1/2 x 21 x 11 in. Courtesy DC Moore Gallery © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York

Tableaux such as Bleck, showing boxing gloves dangling from a female figure, are examples of Whitfield Lovell testing assumptions and pressing us to “think a little deeper.” Why do we see a woman and not a man with these boxing gloves? Lovell has altered our usual frame of reference. When we view the gloves less literally, the combination may suggest the woman’s perseverance, strength, and struggle.

Whitfield Lovell: The Kin Series and Related Works is on view through Jan. 8, 2017.

Cleansing the Ills of the Past

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Experiment Station

Whitfield Lovell, Restoreth, 2001. Charcoal on wood and found objects. Courtesy DC Moore Gallery © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York

This tableaux was originally created as part ofWhitfield Lovell’s installation Visitation, which explored the history of the Jackson Ward historic district in Richmond, Virginia, the first black entrepreneurial community in the United States, commonly described as the Harlem of the South.

Restoreth, as the artist once explained, “evolved . . . out of a need for reconciliation. For me, it bridges the abyss between slavery and the height of Jackson Ward’s heyday. The image is from a tintype of an older black woman. The work includes 33 medicine bottles—pills, powders, ointments, and tonics—that represent the elements of healing and fortification. The juxtaposition of these objects with the image of this powerful woman suggests a kind of protection from, and cleansing of, the ills of the past, while also alluding to Hoodoo practices that came from African customs.”

Whitfield Lovell: The Kin Series and Related Works is on view through Jan. 8, 2017.

Did You Know? Whitfield Lovell Edition

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Experiment Station

The National Museum of African American History and Culture officially opens its doors tomorrow! We’re celebrating by highlighting the work of Whitfield Lovell, whose Card Series II is part of the new Smithsonian’s permanent collection, and whose Kin Series (along with a number of his other related works) are on view at the Phillips beginning Oct. 8.

1) Inspiration for Whitfield Lovell’s Kin Series images came from photo booths photos, passports photos, mugshots and the like. The artist combines freely-drawn Conté crayon faces with time-worn objects such as a brooch, clock, shoe, or mirror.

Whitfield Lovell, Kin VII (Scent of Magnolia), 2008. Conté on paper,silk flower wreath, 30 x 22 ½ x 3 in. Collection of Julia J. Norrell © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York

2) In the words of the artist, Lovell’s work examines “the markings that the past has made—and continues to make—on who we are.”

Whitfield Lovell, After an Afternoon, 2008. Radios with sound, 59 x 72 x 11 in. Courtesy DC Moore Gallery © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York

3) Lovell’s most recent works are his “tableaux,” in which he combines Conté crayon portraits on antique wood panels with found objects. The images are drawn freehand in charcoal on the panels, giving careful thought to the grain and texture of each surface,and then adds found objects to create three-dimensional tableaux.

Whitfield Lovell, Gin Song, 2004. Charcoal on wood with found objects (saxophone, metal cups), 77 1/4 x 45 3/16 x 13 in. Courtesy of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia. Mary W.F. Howe Fund © Whitfield Lovell and DC Moore Gallery, New York