Black Art Collectors Exist and Their Personal Collections can be Found in the "Eye of the Beholder" Exhibition in Cedarburg
Artist: Ras 'Ammar Nsoroma, b. 1967, Milwaukee WI
Artwork: Know Thyself, We are an African People, 2010, Acrylic, oil pastel on masonite
Collector: Irma & John W. Daniels, Jr
It was about two years ago that Blaine Gibson, board of directors president for the Cedarburg Art Museum, thought of the idea for an entire exhibition to be dedicated to Black art collectors. For Gibson, although he didn’t know of many Black art collectors, he knew they were out there and he wanted to give them a spotlight.
“It’s been my desire to bring stuff to Cedarburg that people have never experienced before,” Gibson said. With Cedarburg having a population of less than 2% Black people, Gibson knew this exhibition would catch the eye of his community.
Within two years, Gibson; guest curator Evelyn Patricia Terry; Cedarburg Art Museum Executive Director Samantha Landre, and others have created “Eye of the Beholder: African Americans Collecting Art”.
The exhibition has 23 Black art collectors who’ve collectively loaned 68 pieces of art from their personal collections. The artwork comes from collectors who live in Southeast Wisconsin.
Artist: Fatima Laster, b. 1984, Milwaukee, WI
Artwork: Be My Voice, 2015-2017, Mixed Media assemblage on canvas
Collector: Evelyn Patricia Terry
Gibson, Terry and Landre are all collectors, but it was Terry’s connections in the art world that found a bulk of the collectors. Terry’s been curating exhibitions since the 1970s—which is around the same time she started collecting art—and has curated over 20 exhibitions, but the Eye of the Beholder is one of the very few that she didn’t think of herself.
The exhibition contains a wide range of art mediums from pastels to sculptors, and it should be noted that although all of the art collectors are Black, all of the artwork isn’t created by Black artists.
“The show is beautiful. It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced,” Landre said. She also added that art is a way to connect with oneself and others.
Artist: Brad Anthony Bernard, b.1967, Madison, WI; Lives in Milwaukee, WI
Artwork: Sermonic Introspection, 2005, Acrylic, mixed media collage on wood panel
Collector: Una Van Duvall
Terry made sure every piece in the exhibition is original.
Just like Gibson and Landre, Terry wants to educate the community through this exhibition. For example, many people look at abstract art and think it’s all the same, but Terry said every line and stroke can be pinned to one specific artist.
Since a large portion of people don’t see Black people as art collectors, Terry wanted people to realize and understand that “Black people don’t all think alike. They don’t all see the same thing.”
“All of these people are collecting with their own individual perspectives,” Terry said. “That has a lot to do with how you grow up.”
The exhibition officially opened on June 6, 2020 and will end on Sept. 27, 2020. As of right now, the exhibition is at a 10-person capacity and will have a public reception on July 11, 2020.
Eye of the Beholder: African Americans Collecting Art has free admission and is being held at Cedarburg Art Museum, located at W63 N675 Washington Ave.
For more information, click here.
For those who can’t make it to the exhibition, watch the two-part virtual tour below: