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Imo Nse Imeh b. 1980
Feeding the Veins of the Earth (Grounded Angel), 2020Oil, Charcoal, India Ink on Unstretched Canvas100 x 84 in.
254 x 213.4 cm© Imo Nse ImehPart of a narrative series that explores the idea of bearing witness to and experience of life as a Black man in America. , Description: Feeding the Veins of the Earth (Grounded Angel) "is part of the artist's narrative "Benediction" series. The bodies of work tell the story of a group of angels that have been cast down to earth, and bound to the skins of black boys and men. Their task is to serve as witnesses to the traumas and triumphs that they experience while in this guise. In this painting, the angel figure kneels shirtless with his fists pressed to the ground with expressive splashes of red and gray ink over him.Provenance
Purchased directly from artistExhibitions
"Another American's Autobiography", Sigal Museum. Dates: 18/11/2021-10/07/2022. Location: Sigal Museum, 342 Northampton St, Easton, PA 18042. "The Hope of Radiance by Imo Imeh", August Wilson African American Cultural Center, Claude Worthington Benedum Gallery. Dates: 10/02/2023-02/04/2023. Location: Pittsburgh, PA. Link: https://awaacc.org/exhibition/the-hope-of-radiance/ - Notes: The Hope of Radiance brings together art works and texts created between 2020 - 2022 that are part of Dr. Imo Nse Imeh's developing project titled Benediction. The exhibition addresses Imeh's emotional and spiritual tumult during the pandemic period, when the world went silent under lockdown and became an unwitting witness to the horrors of Black life. With the Benediction series, Imeh tells the story of a group of angels that have been cast down to earth and bound to the skins of Black boys and men. The angels' task is to serve as witnesses to the traumas and triumphs that they experience through their "hosts." A "benediction" is a short invocation, a prayer for help or guidance, usually given at the end of a service of worship. But a benediction is also often a declaration that comes at the commencement of something wonderful. In Imeh's work, "benediction" speaks to both the death and resurrection of Black men.The Hope of Radiance guides us down a road of reflection about Black boys and men, faith and despair, solitude, loss, and the realities of the human condition. The question at the center of this project considers the cyclicality of Black trauma and triumph, and the hope for acknowledgement, beauty, resplendence, and so much more. "Queens, Gods, and Devotees", Maguire Art Museum. Dates: 23/09/2024-13/12/2024. Location: St. Joseph's University, Philadelphia, OA.Publications
1. Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe, (2022), "Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021", Shifting Time, Book, Self-Published, New Jersey, https://www.amazon.com/Shifting-Time-African-American-2020-2021/dp/B0BJY351K4, Notes: Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021 explores how contemporary Black artists responded to the emotional and cultural challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic, social justice movements, and political upheaval during this critical period of turmoil and uncertainty. Co-edited by Klare Scarborough and Berrisford Boothe, the book offers a glimpse into the lives of over 70 African American artists, featuring personal essays, creative poetry, artistic statements, memorial tributes, and images of artworks. 240 pages, 214 illustrations. If we look to the artists, in this volume and elsewhere, we will hear the call and response of the world screaming and the artists answering the challenges of the moment. So, by taking on these projects, artists have been able to offer a tangible reaction to questions that no one has yet fully formulated. Lewis Tanner Moore, Foreword to Shifting Time: African American Artists 2020-2021 2. Claudia Volpe and Imo Nse Imeh, (2021), "Another American's Autobiography: Selections from the Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art", Sigal Museum - Another American's Autobiography, Catalog, Petrucci Family Foundation , Asbury, NJ
