The exhibition features works by a large group of internationally recognized artists: Ellia Alba, Robert Blackburn, Kabuya Bowens, Beverly Buchanan, Alfredo Ceibal, Robert Colescott, Constance, Edouard Duval-Carrié, Lonnie Holly, Mildred Howard, Jacob Lawrence, Lloyd McNeil, Charo Oquet, Aramis O’Reilly, Pepón Osorio, Salnave Philippe-Auguste, Faith Ringgold, Betye Saar, Raymond Saunders, Andres Serrano, Lorna Simpson, Jemmie Stevens, Renée Stout, Bob Thompson, Kara Walker, William T. Williams, Deborah Willis, Roland Woods, and Purvis Young.
Gallery Hours:
Monday – Thursday 7:30 am – 1:00 am Friday 7:30 am – 10:00 pm Saturday 8:00 am – 8:00 pm Sunday Noon – 1:00 am
The Gallery at Green Library of Florida International University is proud to present American Resources, an exhibition of the works of twenty-nine artists curated by Bernice Steinbaum. The Green Library is hosting this exhibition to recognize and commemorate the critical contributions of African-Americans and Women to the history and culture of America. This exhibition is in conjunction with university wide events to celebrate African American History Month and Women’s History Month.
African-American women and artists of minority groups have been and are subject to historically limited descriptions and classifications. Their work is often displayed in cultural contexts conceptually similar to the treatment of the “Hottentot Venus,” Saarti Baartman. Baartman was deceitfully taken from Cape Town in 1810 and displayed in Britain and France, not as a person, but as an odd object from the “outside” world. Minority artists are often dehumanized and classified in a cultural manner similar to the physical treatment of Baartman. American Resources aims to provide a setting in which these artists will be able to define themselves.
In describing her work, artist Renée Stout captures the essence of this, “I am trying to create art that helps me put together what are only fragments, to try to create a whole, so that I can gain a better understanding of my own existence. In doing this, I hope that others, no matter where they come from, will realize some answers about their own existence.”
Director Dr. Laurence Miller describes the importance of the academic context of American Resources: “We are honored to have the Steven and Dorothea Green Library be the venue for this distinguished exhibition. The Gallery makes it possible to enjoy outstanding art while going about study and research in a university library. American Resources makes an immediate impression and rewards the observer whether thirty seconds or thirty minutes of attention are accorded. We invite the University Community and the public to encounter in a library setting art that will both fascinate and astound.”
Mrs. Steinbaum selected works from several Miami collections, including the Miami-Dade Public Library System, Collection of César Trasobares, Collection of Terry Rey, and other private collections.
Bernice Steinbaum holds a Ph. D. in Art History from Columbia University and 19 years of teaching experience. She has curated exhibitions for and lectured at several public and private institutions, including Sacred Heart University, North Miami Museum of Contemporary Art, Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, and University Gallery at the University of Florida. She is a board member of the College of New Jersey and the President and founder of the Miami Art Exchange. She is also the owner and Director of the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery.