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COVER

Romare Bearden
A Memorial Exhibition at ACA Gallery
by Lisa R. Rhodes

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I believe that art is an expression of what people feel and want...that this fact, plus horsesense, resolves all questions as to the place of "propaganda," the role of the artist in society, the subject matter of painting, the good or bad health of any particular work.   - Romy

The cultural legacy of Romare H. Bearden could be seen in the large number of warm smiles on black, brown, white and yellow faces that were present at the ACA Gallery, 41 East 57th Street, for the opening of the first memorial exhibition since his death last March. Collectors, artists, friends and admirers - old and new - gathered for the first glimpse of the late master's seventy-five works which are on view through June 10.

The fact that the life work of an African-American artist commands such respect from the entire arts community is evidence of one truth - art has no color. In a culture where racist theories and institutions dictate the credibility and value of an artist, Bearden's fifty-year career was a trailblazer. Born in 1911 in Charlotte, North Carolina, Bearden was one of America's foremost collagists and the recipient of every national arts award and honor when he died at age 75.

"Romare Bearden: A Memorial Exhibition" includes a wide selection of the realistic and vibrant colored collages, watercolors, monotypes and oils on canvas and paper which placed Bearden as one of the most prominent chroniclers of the African American experience. Photomontage pieces such as Cotton, 1964 (39" x 47") show the artist's appreciation of plantation life of the rural South, while Jazz 1930's, 1964 shows his great love for the smoky, blue sounds of the nightclub bands that flourished in Harlem during the community's Renaissance period. Small watercolors such as Sunset, (22" x 30") and Theresa 1987 (11 1/2" x 8 3/4") reflect the natural beauty and mystery of the Caribbean, particularly the island of St. Martin, where Bearden and his wife Nanette shared many of their married years.

Some of the exhibition's most impressive works are the watercolor and collage pieces Bearden created in the later years of his life. Jackie at the Five Spot, 1987 (22" x 30"), a watercolor; Blues Singer from the Delta, 1987 (30" x 40"), a watercolor and collage; and Opening Statement, 1987 (40" x 30"), also a watercolor and collage, are the best examples of the artist's signature style. Each canvas is bathed in a generous splash of cool greens and blues; spicy reds, oranges, yellows and magentas, and warm browns and sepias; while the keys of a piano and the curve of a woman's pearl necklace catch the corner of a viewer's eye because of their white hue.

By using tiny cuts of paper, pieces of photographs, thousands of drops of paint and hundreds of canvases, Romare Bearden documented not only the African-American experience, but the cultures of the world. In each work, one can see the sorrows, joys, beauty and pride of the Native American, Asia and European all rooted in one common source - the womb of Africa. Perhaps this is why Bearden's work was one of the first to cross the formidable boundaries of race into the recognized history of American and world art. He succeeded because he never strayed far from the source of all art. The self.

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Romare Bearden, Mecklenburg Morning, Sunrise for China Lamp, 1989, Collage 13 3/4" x 17 3/4", at ACA Gallery.

6/MANHATTAN ARTS/JUNE 1989