Ephraim Urevbu, Strange Fruit, acrylic on canvas, 84 x 60 inches
Urevbu Contemporary and the Watkins College of Art at Belmont University (Nashville, TN) are honored to announce the upcoming solo exhibition of artist Ephraim Urevbu's The Naked Truth: An American Story in White, Red and Blue in the Leu Art Gallery.
Ahead of the exhibition opening this fall in Nashville, Urevbu Contemporary (410 S Main Street, Memphis), will host a private viewing in its gallery space in Memphis on Saturday, July 24 from 4:00 - 6:00 pm. Only a cross section of paintings will previewed. You are cordially invited to join us for an artist led preview, talk and wine and hors d'oeuvres.
The preview will present a suite of twenty abstract expressionist paintings, many paired with a short essay or reference material, which function as key components to provide interactive and layered experiences to audiences, will adjoin the artwork.
In an ongoing series that now comprises over 50 paintings sparked by the beginning of public events around justice and equality in America, including the unjustified killings of Black Americans, the works on view were made in response to these conditions. For the artist, the artwork not only highlights his own form of protest, but also serves as a means to spark dialogue and conversation towards healing.
Each painting not only confronts, but transports its viewer through time, memory and grief. But to gain true meaning,
these paintings must "move the viewer beyond their initial reaction and to reflection and conversation, " says the artist.