The Mechanical Hall Gallery at the University of Delaware presents Magical Visions. Ten Contemporary African American Artists an exhibition on view through June 29, 2012.
Magical Visions: Barkley Hendricks, Iconic Dexter, 2008/9, Archival pigment inkjet, 60 x 42 in. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, NY.
Magical Visions: Ten Contemporary African American Artists brings together the work of artists who have pioneered significant changes in media including assemblage, fiber, painting, photography, printmaking, quilt making, and sculpture to video with performance. Through their own magical visions, these artists give birth to works that challenge traditions and open new vistas. Artists included in the exhibition are Terry Adkins, Sonya Clark, Melvin Edwards, Sam Gilliam, Barkley L. Hendricks, Kalup Linzy, Odili Donald Odita, Karyn Olivier, Faith Ringgold and William T. Williams.
Following an award winning renovation, Mechanical Hall reopened in 2004 as the home of the Paul R. Jones Collection of African American Art. This gift to the University by the Atlanta collector Paul R. Jones has served as a point of departure for a growing collection of African American art, as well as related faculty and student initiatives.
The African American art collection at UD today encompasses the founding Paul R. Jones gift, an impressive survey of prints from the Brandywine Workshop in Philadelphia, and important photographs by P.H. Polk. The gallery in Mechanical Hall offers changing exhibitions of African American Art and related topics. In addition to gallery space, the building houses a print room for the use of those studying objects in the collection.
Built in 1898, Mechanical Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Its purpose changed throughout the twentieth century, serving as an engineering building, an athletic training center, a residence for GI’s returning to school after World War II, and a ROTC building.
Information and hours: www.udel.edu/museums or 302-831-8037