Radcliffe Bailey (born 1968)
is a
contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
American artist noted for
mixed-media
In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed.
Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...
, paint, and sculpture works that explore
African-American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...
history.
He is currently based in
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
.
Early life and education
Radcliffe Bailey was born in
Bridgeton, New Jersey in 1968. At age 4, he moved to
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, which is where he currently resides. His interest in art was galvanised by childhood visits to the
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...
and drawing classes he later took at the
Atlanta College of Art.
He cites Atlanta's history with
civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life o ...
and the
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
as an artistic inspiration. Bailey received a
Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1991 from the
Atlanta College of Art.
From 2001 to 2006, he taught in the
Lamar Dodd School of Art
The Lamar Dodd School of Art is the art school of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Georgia (UGA) in Athens, Georgia, United States.
History
In 1927, the University of Georgia’s board of trustees voted to establish ...
at the
University of Georgia
, mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things."
, establ ...
.
Work
Bailey was trained as a sculptor but experiments with paint and mixed media. He works within the convergence of painting and sculpture, utilising items such as vintage photographs of his family, vinyl records, piano keys and bottle-caps.
Thematically, his art explores the intersection of ancestry, race and cultural memory. In 2003, he adopted a style of art conceptually inspired by
Kongo
Congo or The Congo may refer to either of two countries that border the Congo River in central Africa:
* Democratic Republic of the Congo, the larger country to the southeast, capital Kinshasa, formerly known as Zaire, sometimes referred to a ...
minkisi
or (plural varies: , , or ) are spirits or an object that a spirit inhabits. It is frequently applied to a variety of objects used throughout the Congo Basin in Central Africa, especially in the Territory of Cabinda that are believed to conta ...
, which he described as being "medicine cabinet sculptures."
As a result, his work has been described as being three-dimensional and layered, incorporating elements of smell and sound.
In a 2013 interview, Bailey described his creative process and fascination with the connection between past and present, stating: “The day by day experience of art, even though my work may seem to have this layer of history, it is also a cover for what I’m dealing with on a day to day. It’s very much about today. We were talking about where I go next: I’m still thinking about today and yesterday and what’s coming in front of me tomorrow."
He is largely inspired by historic figures, citing individuals such as
George Washington Carver and
Charleston-based blacksmith
Philip Simmons
Philip Simmons (June 9, 1912 – June 22, 2009) was an American artisan and blacksmith specializing in the craft of ironwork. Simmons spent 78 years as a blacksmith, focusing on decorative iron work. When he began his career, blacksmiths in Cha ...
as sources of inspiration.
His large-scale installation ''Windward Coast'' (2009-2011), was presented as part of the ''First International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Cartagena de Indias,''
Colombia.
He has been awarded for his artistic contributions, receiving the Joan Foundation Grant in 2008 and Elizabeth and Mallory Factory Prize for Southern Art in 2010.
Solo exhibitions
Bailey has had solo exhibitions at many galleries and institutions including:
* The Mint Museum of Art,
Charlotte
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
,
North Carolina
North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...
, ''ARTCurrents II: Radcliffe Bailey'' (1992)
*TULA Foundation Gallery,
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
, ''Radcliffe Bailey: Places of Rebirth'' (1992)
*
Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, ''Spiritual Migration'' (2001)
*
Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts & Culture, Charlotte, North Carolina, ''Between Two Worlds: The Art of Radcliffe Bailey'' (2009)
*
High Museum of Art
The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...
, Atlanta, Georgia: ''Art of an Ancient Soul'' (2010), ''Radcliffe Bailey: Memory as Medicine'' (2011)
*Bridget Mayer Gallery,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...
,
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, ''Notes'' (2015)
*
Contemporary Arts Center
The Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) is a contemporary art museum in Cincinnati, Ohio and one of the first contemporary art institutions in the United States. The CAC is a non-collecting museum that focuses on new developments in painting, sculptur ...
,
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, US ''Radcliffe Bailey: Recent Works'' (2015)
*
SCAD Museum of Art
The SCAD Museum of Art was founded in 2002 as part of the Savannah College of Art and Design in Savannah, Georgia, and originally was known as the Earle W. Newton Center for British American Studies.
The museum's permanent collection of more than ...
Savannah, Georgia, ''Pensive'' (2018)
Collections
Bailey's work is held in many permanent collections including:
*
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York, NY.
*
The Smithsonian Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
*
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and list of largest art museums, largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visit ...
, Illinois
*
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
*
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, Missouri
*
The Denver Art Museum, Colorado
*
The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia
*
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Personal life
On June 27, 2009, Bailey married American actress, dancer, and producer
Victoria Rowell
Victoria Lynn Rowell (born May 10, 1959) is an American actress. She began her career as a ballet dancer and model before making her acting debut in the 1987 comedy film ''Leonard Part 6''. In 1990, Rowell joined the cast of the CBS daytime soa ...
in
Dublin, New Hampshire
Dublin is a town in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,532 at the 2020 census. It is home to Dublin School and ''Yankee'' magazine.
History
In 1749, the Masonian proprietors granted the town as "Monadnock No. ...
.
The wedding was announced in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
. The couple divorced in 2014.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bailey, Radcliffe
1968 births
Living people
People from Bridgeton, New Jersey
People from Atlanta
Artists from Atlanta
African-American artists
American contemporary artists
African-American contemporary artists
Atlanta College of Art alumni
Mixed-media artists
21st-century African-American people
20th-century African-American people