Exhibitions
MATERIALITY OF THE SACRED
The Carl Van Vechten Gallery (Fisk University) / 1000 17th Ave N. April 2 - 30th
William Edmondson, Bessie Harvey, Greg Ridley, Joe Light and Earl Hooks, their creative descendants Ted Jones, Wilson Lee Jr., Charlie Newton, Willard Hill, and Aundra McCoy, as well as stellar innovators Samuel Dunson, Elisheba Mrozik, Rahn Marion, Francis Akosah, Lorenzo Swinton, James McKissic, Karen Sullivan, Desmond Lewis
What is Holy and Sacred, what is Divine? To some the sacred is unattainable, untouchable but to others, it is right within reach.
Materiality of the Sacred explores these poignant queries through the lens of black experience. Featuring work by black Tennessee artists, these multigenerational, innovative, and diverse explorations, reexamine the concept of the sacred through tangible form and the materiality of craft. Co-curated by Crafting Blackness co-director Karlota Contreras-Koterbay and Fisk University Art Department Coordinator, Lakesha Calvin, the exhibition opens at the Carl Van Vechten Gallery on April 2 and exhibits through August 31, 2026 with opening reception on Thursday, April 2 from 5:30-7:00pm.
Spirituality has vitally guided the survival and resilience of black communities in America. It has served as a stronghold and moral compass, as well as a guiding light, inspiration for community and self-determination. In this exhibition, we gaze on the subject of spirituality that reflects religion, faith and iconography, both shared and individual. In Practice as Revelation, we invited artists whose practice reveals itself more as revelation, whose hands create forms that are considered extensions of divine will. Faith and Memory presents profound representations of what is stitched together by time and experience, and Embodiment of the Divine offers entry points into welded iconography and provides moments of reflection.
Materiality of The Sacred features influential historical figures and contemporary innovators in black craft practice.
This exhibition is presented by Fisk University's Carl Van Vechten Gallery in partnership with the Crafting Blackness Initiative with Tennessee Craft and support from the Tennessee Arts Commission, ETSU Slocumb Galleries & partners. Gallery hours are 10am-4pm, Monday-Friday.
