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Glenn Ligon, Grey Hands #2, 1996, Silkscreen on canvas, 52 x 53 inches; Photographer Credit: Ronald Amstutz 漏 Glenn Ligon; Image courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, and Thomas Dane Gallery, London.  

January 18, 2019 鈥�  is pleased to present a special collaboration with one of the most prominent voices in creative discourse today: Glenn Ligon (American b. 1960; lives New York City).

Glenn Ligon: To be a Negro in this country is really never to be looked at, on view January 24 through April 7, includes selected works and accompanying labels from some of Ligon鈥檚 best-known series.

The works exemplify Ligon鈥檚 engagement with language, examination of the African American experience, and the influence of his muses, including Andy Warhol and James Baldwin. A Baldwin quote forms the exhibition鈥檚 title and speaks to the show鈥檚 central concept, described by Ligon as 鈥渢he invisibility and simultaneous hypervisibility of black people in America.鈥�

CENTERPIECE

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a group of five never-before-seen grey paintings from Ligon鈥檚 celebrated Handsseries depicting the Million Man March, a large and controversial convening of African American men on the National Mall in 1995. The works are hung on top of a facsimile of Andy Warhol鈥檚 rarely shown Washington Monument wallpaper 鈥� a privilege granted to few artists.

鈥淕eorgetown University and its de la Cruz Gallery look to the city of Washington as a cornerstone of critical conversation,鈥�  said. 鈥淚ntimately pairing these works by Ligon and Warhol will spark new conversations about how the National Mall inspires artists and citizens alike.鈥�

Employing a technique Warhol pioneered, Ligon silkscreened press images of the protesters onto canvas and obscured the background, leaving the figures eerily silent. However, installed on the wallpaper, Ligon鈥檚 subjects are thrust back into their original and powerful setting.

Andy Warhol,聽Washington Monument, 1974. Screenprint on the wallpaper, 44 x 29 1/2 inches. 漏 2019 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Licensed by Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.

鈥淭he Million Man March has echoes in early gatherings, such as the silent march against lynching held in June of 1922, or the 1963 March on Washington,鈥� Ligon writes. 鈥淚 am interested in this recurring, continual need for African Americans to assert our visibility in a country in which we have been crucial presences from the beginning.鈥�

ADDITIONAL WORKS

Text-based two-dimensional works form the rest of the exhibition, including a suite of Study for Negro Sunshine drawings quoting Gertrude Stein. These drawings span a decade and culminate in a recent red version, which marks a departure from Ligon鈥檚 well-known black and white monochromes.

Glenn Ligon, Study for Negro Sunshine (Red) #2, 2018, oil stick, coal dust and acrylic on paper, 12 x 9 inches (30.5 x 22.9 cm); Photographer Credit: Farzad Owrang 漏 Glenn Ligon; Image courtesy of the artist, Luhring Augustine, New York, Regen Projects, Los Angeles, and Thomas Dane Gallery, London.

Large photographic prints from the 2016 Untitled series record Ligon鈥檚 enduring engagement with Baldwin鈥檚 seminal 1953 essay 鈥淪tranger in the Village.鈥� The prints document the accumulated paint smudges and fingerprints on the artist鈥檚 studio copy of the text, which has witnessed the creation of nearly two hundred related artworks over almost twenty years. At the conclusion of that essay 鈥� which recounts Baldwin鈥檚 experience as the only black person in a remote Swiss hamlet 鈥� the author writes that he is 鈥渘ot, really, a stranger any longer for any American alive.鈥�

鈥淭he optimism of this conclusion is at odds with the current state of American politics and civil discourse on the subject,鈥� Ligon writes.

COMMITMENT TO SOCIAL JUSTICE

The exhibition and related engagement series support Georgetown 海角论坛鈥檚 long commitment to advancing social justice.

鈥淓specially at this time of deep political division, colleges and art institutions alike are well poised to provide the great thinkers of our time 鈥� including artists 鈥� platforms from which they can share their unique battle cries for inclusion, and visibility,鈥� Miner said. 鈥淲e are honored to support Glenn’s vision and look forward to the dialogue he will spark among our students and community at large.”

Glenn Ligon: To be a Negro in this country is really never to be looked at. will open with a public reception on January 24, from 6-8 p.m. A series of free, multidisciplinary programs ranging from film screenings to public dialogues will expand upon themes of the exhibition. Program details are listed on the Gallery鈥檚 website.

FRIEDMAN OPENING AT SPAGNUOLO GALLERY

Like the Ligon exhibition, a new show in the University鈥檚 Lucille M. and Richard F. X. Spagnuolo Gallery also seeks to engage viewers and inspire change. Georgie Friedman: Vortex will open January 24 and remain on view through June 2.

The Boston-based Friedman鈥檚 immersive and hypnotic video installation Eye of the Storm III will transform the Gallery into a contemplative space with a disquieting undercurrent. Friedman explores humankind鈥檚 simultaneous defenselessness and culpability in relation to an array of powerful weather events.

EVENTS SCHEDULE

January 28, 2019 鈥� Talk with Jennifer Brody: 鈥淔ree Form: Art, Activism and Racial聽Justice,鈥� part of 鈥淩acial Justice: Arts and Activism鈥� series; co-sponsored by the Race and Justice Institute and the Departments of African American Studies and Performing Arts (3:30 pm, Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery)

February 13, 2019 鈥� Film Screening: Raoul Peck鈥檚聽I Am Not Your Negro聽(6:00 pm, Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery)

February 19, 2019 鈥� A Dialogue with Artist Adrienne Gaither & Ambassador Bonnie Jenkins: 鈥淥N DIGNITY: Policy & Art鈥� (6:00 pm, Maria & Alberto de la Cruz Art Gallery; followed by a reception in the聽Nora聽Cooney聽Marra Memorial Atrium of the Walsh Building)

February 26, 2019 鈥撀� Artist鈥檚 Talk with Georgie Friedman (5:00 pm, Walsh Building, Room 497; followed by a reception in the聽Nora聽Cooney聽Marra Memorial Atrium of the Walsh Building聽and the Spagnuolo Art Gallery)

Future programs will be announced on the .