Cullen Washington, Jr. (born 1972) is an African-American contemporary abstract painter. Washington lives and works in New York.

Early life and education

Cullen Washington, Jr. was born in

Alexandria, Louisiana Alexandria is the ninth-largest city in the state of Louisiana and is the parish seat of Rapides Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on the south bank of the Red River in almost the exact geographic center of the state. It is the prin ...

in 1972. As a child, he loved science, but also knew he wanted to be an artist at a young age. He grew up in a very supportive environment, where not only his parents but his two sisters encouraged him to develop his artistic skills. At the age of 9, he presented his first art exhibition at his elementary school in Alexandria, which made his interest in art grow even more rapidly. He earned his MFA degree from Tufts University/School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, and BFA degree from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

Career

Exhibitions

His work has been exhibited at

The Studio Museum in Harlem The Studio Museum in Harlem is an American art museum devoted to the work of artists of African descent. The museum's galleries are currently closed in preparation for a building project that will replace the current building, located at 144 W ...

, The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston,

Saatchi Gallery The Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art and an independent charity opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985. Exhibitions which drew upon the collection of Charles Saatchi, starting with US artists and minimalism, moving to the D ...

in London, and the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. From January to March 2020, the

University of Michigan Museum of Art The University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan with is one of the largest university art museums in the United States. Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alumni Memorial Hall ori ...

exhibited Washington's work in a show titled ''Cullen Washington, Jr.: The Public Square''. Though scheduled to be active through May, the exhibition was cut short when the museum closed in mid-March due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Consequently, the museum put Washington's work on their website as an online exhibition.

Artist residencies

Washington has been an artist in residence at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

(2016–17), the Fountainhead Residency (2016),The Studio Museum in Harlem (2013); Rush Arts Gallery (2012),

Yaddo Yaddo is an artists' community located on a estate in Saratoga Springs, New York. Its mission is "to nurture the creative process by providing an opportunity for artists to work without interruption in a supportive environment.". On March ...

(2011), and

Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture is an artists residency located in Madison, Maine, just outside of Skowhegan. Every year, the program accepts online applications from emerging artists from November through January, and selects 65 t ...

(2010).

Artistic style

Washington's paintings often utilize materials such as "tape, canvas, acrylic paint, charcoal dust, Black chalkboard paint, paper, Black copier toner, acrylic medium, Black ink, Kraft paper, wax coated cotton string, latex house paint, rubber, wire, hot plastic glue and ear phone cushions." He describes his work as "non-representational."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Washington, Cullen, Jr. Painters from Louisiana African-American painters American contemporary painters American collage artists People from Alexandria, Louisiana School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts alumni Louisiana State University alumni Abstract painters Living people 1972 births 21st-century American painters 21st-century American male artists 21st-century African-American artists 20th-century African-American people