Between Form and Content: Perspectives on Jacob Lawrence and Black Mountain College

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September 28, 2018 – January 12, 2019 {120 College Street}

Curated by Julie Levin Caro and Jeff Arnal

One of the most widely regarded American artists of the 20th century, Jacob Lawrence (1917-2000) is known for his paintings, drawings, and prints that hover between abstraction and socially inspired narrative realism, chronicling African-American history and experience during his lifetime. Between Form and Content is the very first exhibition to focus on Lawrence’s experiences during the summer of 1946, when Josef Albers invited Lawrence to teach painting at Black Mountain College. In addition to Lawrence’s paintings, the exhibition features artworks by Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence, Josef and Anni Albers, Leo Amino, Jean Varda, Ruth Asawa, Ray Johnson, and Beaumont and Nancy Newhall. It also examines Lawrence’s paintings, pedagogy, and legacy in a contemporary context, through the lens of four multimedia artists: Animator/filmmaker Martha Colburn, composer/performer, Tyondai Braxton, installation artist Grace Villamil and writer and interdisciplinary artist, Jace Clayton (DJ Rupture). This exhibition was made possible by a $25,000 Art Works grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and $60,000 from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts.

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