Room 57 in NYC is currently presenting two concurrent solo shows by Joseph Munyao Baraka and Clementine Hunter.
Joseph Munyao Baraka
Room 57 Gallery is pleased to present “A Time Like This”, an exhibition by Joseph Munyao Baraka. Joseph Munyao Baraka draws from the faces and places of Nairobi, Kenya where he resides to create rich, colorful portraits. His subject matter is his social life; Friends and family recline and pose against vibrant interiors and natural landscapes. They lounge against poolsides, eat popsicles, play billiards and golf. Drawn to a wildness in a person, Munyao’s subjects are irreverent and unapologetic, either meeting the viewer’s gaze or looking off into the distance, unbothered and at ease. Munyao’s work is as surreal as it is figurative, presenting the physical aspects of his subjects alongside the imagined and perceived reality of their personalities. He decorates the people he paints with smiling dogs, richly saturated clothing, furniture, jewelry, silks, and feathers in caps. Color is a key part of this artists’ practice and although applied instinctively, there is a delicate balance in his vibrant palette which includes blues, purples, hot pinks, yellows, reds and yellows. A feeling of warmth and abundant leisure exists in Munyao’s portraits, even humor and a cartoonish, magical quality.
Clementine Hunter
Clementine Hunter (1886-1988) was a self-taught Black folk artist who lived and worked on Melrose Plantation in Louisiana. She grew up on the plantation as an agricultural laborer, picking cotton and pecans, never learning how to read or write. In her thirties, Hunter began working at the main house as a cook and housekeeper for Cammie Henry, the owner of the plantation. Cammie, an avid patron of the arts and literature, turned the plantation into an artist colony and a hub for artistic expression, inviting a variety of writers and painters to vacation and work there for extended periods of time. Clementine observed the visitors and developed a hobby of painting in her spare time with discarded paint tubes and cardboard left over from the artists. A memory painter, she painted scenes from everyday plantation life and documented the black Cane River Valley experience. Her work colorfully depicts important events like funerals, baptisms, weddings and scenes of plantation labor. She painted everyday, producing nearly 10,000 works in her lifetime.
In the early days, she began selling her works for 25 cents to whoever frequented the plantation, and eventually gained a following of supporters who brought her painting supplies so she could keep going. One supporter, Tom Whitehead - now the renowned expert of her work - wrote a biography on the artist and helped her achieve great recognition, along with a number of other patrons. Hunter was the first African-American artist to have a solo exhibition at the New Orleans Museum of Art. She achieved significant recognition during her lifetime, including an invitation to the White House from U.S. President Jimmy Carter and letters from President Ronald Reagan. Hunter's work can be found in numerous museums such as the Dallas Museum of Fine Art, the American Folk Art Museum, Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the New Orleans Museum of Art, and the Louisiana State Museum, among other institutions. Vallarino Fine Art is pleased to present a selection of 8 works by Clementine Hunter which all tell a different story of life on Melrose Plantation. Her colorful depictions, stylized figures, and split compositions all evoke the charm of folk art while remaining sophisticated in subject matter and execution.
