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,

, ''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) *

, 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 ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

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 ...

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