WASHINGTON, D.C. (PNAN) – On exhibit, works by Kenneth Victor Young and Jessica Maria Hopkins will close Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at Connersmith art gallery (https://www.connersmith.us.com/research/history)
KENNETH VICTOR YOUNG: BEYOND: In this showing, the artist is known for experimenting with color, space and soft-edged organic forms in acrylics on unprimed canvas and on paper. Young developed a cosmic abstract style making formal innovations to express phenomena beyond the confines of matter and physical being.
Young transcended corporeal confines in his artwork, yet his career was constrained by ideological categories. A scientist by training, he found himself to be a Washington Color School outsider. As a Black abstractionist during the 1960s and 1970s, he was also at odds with a critical establishment that expected Black artists to employ figural imagery and engage in civil rights politics.
JESSICA MARIA HOPKINS: BARRIERS: “In this body of work, I explore personal barriers, deep-rooted metaphysical walls that prevent something in us from moving forward…I have subconsciously created some walls and others have formed from circumstances including race, gender, relationships, health and physical qualities. These kinds of barriers have shaped my life and the lives of others I know, sometimes blocking our achievements and often preventing us from being heard.
Figuration and abstraction empower me to visually express my life experiences. I view the body as an instrument to be played, distorted and defined through various colors and patterns.
The portraits I create serve as internal and external self-portraits reflecting my most inner being. I consider the mechanics of life and art to be similar. Life situations have the potential to trigger a range of human emotions. Grey tones represent calm while color signals chaos or something uncontrollable.
With my work it is not necessary for viewers to rationalize what they feel about color. I strive to create an organic experience that elicits an immediate emotional reaction.”
Abouts
Jessica Maria Hopkins was born in Washington, DC. She lives and works in Takoma Park, MD. Hopkins is a figurative painter whose artistic training at Howard University aligns her practice with the painting traditions of Alma Thomas and the AfriCOBRA movement. Hopkins experiments with surface texture, explores the symbolic value of decorative patterning, and accesses the emotional potential of color in her work. Her work is in the collection of the University of the District of Columbia as well as numerous private collections.
Kenneth Victor Young (1933-2017) was a Color Field painter. Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Young moved to Washington, DC in 1964 where he associated with Howard Mehring, Thomas Downing, Alma Thomas and Sam Gilliam. In 1973 Young was recognized as a prominent Washington Color painter with a solo exhibition at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Young’s work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions including: Contemporary Black American Artists, Arts and Industry Building, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC (1969); Black Artists / South, Huntsville.