EPHRAIM UREVBU | The Naked Truth: An American Story in White, Red and Blue: Belmont University | Leu Gallery, Nashville TN
For 400 years, American culture and nationhood has been haunted, stalked, and tormented by the reality and symbols of racial injustice - the chains, the noose, the bullets. Now, well into the 21st century, the labels and suspicions and accusations, the marchings and riots, the righteous indignation, and "good trouble" rise again and again as a shadow on the land and as a spotlight on the hypocrisy of a nation that saw itself as the standard-bearer for "freedom." Artist Ephraim Urevbu presents a new body of provocative artwork confronting these and other issues in his forst solo exhibition at Belmont University in Nashville, TN (Leu Gallery) in the Fall of 2021.
A preview exhibition will be held 24 July at Urevbu Contemporary
Urevbu Contemporary announces artist Ephraim Urevbu’s solo exhibition, The Naked Truth: An American Story in White, Red and Bluewill open at Belmont University’s Leu Gallery in Nashville, TN. Opening to the public on August 23, through October 31, 2021. The exhibition portrays and encapsulates the history of America from slavery and civil rights to the contemporary African-American experience of today though the creation of a suite of 50 new poignant yet provocative medium to large-scale abstract expressionist paintings.
“For 400 years, American culture and nationhood has been haunted, stalked, and tormented by the reality and symbols of racial injustice - the chains, the noose, the bullets. Now, well into the 21st century, the labels and suspicions and accusations, the marchings and riots, the righteous indignation, and "good trouble" rise again and again as a shadow on the land and as a spotlight on the hypocrisy of a nation that saw itself as the standard-bearer for “freedom”, says artist Ephraim Urevbu.
Urevbu originally began creating paintings to intersect the ideas of social justice and contemporary art after he was approached by a local university president and one of its board members to brainstorm ideas on how to engage its college campus in meaningful conversation in response to the 2014 killing of Michael Brown and birth of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“For me, this project began as a demonstration of ways in which art could spark dialogue on college campuses around the anger and cultural segregation ignited by protests with the shooting of another unarmed black man by police. As I worked on these paintings, time and world events caught up with me. The frequency and horror of violence and suppression escalated, magnifying social injustice.”
Belmont University’s director of galleries, Katie Mitchell, learned about Urevbu’s project and contacted him in late 2020 with an invitation to exhibit. “The Watkins College of Art at Belmont University is honored to exhibit Ephraim Urevbu’s passion project, The Naked Truth in the Leu Art Gallery. Created out of personal experience with inequality and social injustice, this important work comes at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history. The exhibition, along with related artist-led programming, allows us [Belmont University] the opportunity to engage in meaningful and productive conversations with our campus and local communities.”
As Urevbu prepares for the inaugural university exhibit in September at Belmont University, he invites friends and supporters to an invitation only kickoff reception and first viewing on July 24th at Urevbu Contemporary, located at 410 S Main Street, Memphis, TN to witness, reflect and dialogue about the artwork. 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.