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VISIONARIES: THE ARTISTS Eugene
Armisted Aurence
Frank Bryant Minnie
Evans "Hoffman" Eugene Armistead creates tableaus of the human condition, places them within drawers, and labels them with titles such as Not Fidel #12: The Babysitter. The provocative titles combined with the imagery of these works leads to speculation on the nature and variety of temptation. The doll-like female figures in the large work Momento: Dolos de Trebica, are labeled with women’s names as if the artist were presenting us with a litany. The complex stories that Armistead affixes to the backs of some of his boxes shed on the nature of this artist’s vision. Armistead was born in 1950. He lives in
San Bernadino, California, where he creates art in his home studio,
develops web sites, and teaches. The works by Eugene Armistead are from
the collection of Marvin Jones. The four works by Aurence are from the
collection of Marvin Jones. Using an
uncomplicated palette and direct approach, Georgia artist Frank Bryant
paints scenes of life and death onto pieces of metal. This artist’s
vision, represented in what he calls “Mind Art,” seems to distill
the experience of life into a series of symbolic vignettes. Bryant
was born in Steward County, Georgia, in 1958. After high school, he
spent three years in the Army. He now lives and paints in his native
Georgia. The paintings by Frank Bryant are from
the collection of Marvin Jones. North
Carolina artist Minnie Evans used crayon, ink, and other
materials to create dreamscapes in a luxuriously idyllic style. Inspired
to bring her visions into the world, Evans produced approximately 1,000
drawings and paintings in which the human, the natural, and the
supernatural intertwine in complex patterns, and powerful colors. Evans
was the descendent of slaves from Trinidad. Born in 1892, she was raised
in North Carolina, attending school through the 6th grade. As
an adult, she worked as a domestic at Pembroke Park, then as gatekeeper
at Airlie Park Gardens in Wilmington, North Carolina. She died in 1987. Minnie Evans’ work was provided for this exhibition by Luise Ross Gallery, New York. As
is sometimes the case with outsider artists of the past, the identity of
the person who painted these two delicate hearts is a mystery. 1927
“Erie Pa. signed Hoffman.” The two paintings by “Hoffman” are
from the collection of Marvin Jones. Jinks was born 1921 in Locust Grove, Georgia. He grew up in a large family, sharecropping around Clayton County. He worked for the Department of Sanitation in Atlanta for 30 years, an occupation that provided him with ample raw material for his art. The works by Willie Jinks are from the
collection of Marvin Jones. Born in North Georgia in 1912, Miller started working at a cotton mill at age 12, and worked there for decades. He also farmed and preached before retiring in his early sixties. The drawings of R. A. Miller are from the
collection of Marvin Jones. Florida
artist Peter J. Minchell’s watercolors are, literally, records of his
dreams. Upon waking with an image in his mind, he worked until the memory
was captured on paper. The artist’s visions include space exploration,
the rise and fall of worlds, and the activities of scientists and genies.
At times, he wrote commentary in the margins of his work. Peter
J. Minchell was born in Germany in 1889, moving to the United States in
1906. He studied for the priesthood for several years, but eventually left
the seminary, married, and began working in the building trade. Much of
his creative work was produced during and after the late 1960s. Minchell
died in 1984. The works by Peter J. Minchell
are from the collection of Mary Jo Toles. “The
Prophet” Royal Robertson used marker and ink to reveal troubled visions
of a world in which unidentified flying objects hover above the earth,
evildoers plague the devout, and a pink god seems to ponder the fate of
humanity. Writings, often a fusion of Biblical prophecy and personal
grievance, form an integral element of the artist’s compositions.
Calendars, drawn on the reverse of the works in this exhibition, provide
further insight into Robertson’s complex view of the universe. Robertson was born in 1930 in
St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. After a brief period of travel in his early
20s, he returned to Louisiana to care for his mother and work as a sign
painter. He married, but after nineteen years the relationship ended.
Robertson remained alone until his death in 1997. The five works by Royal
Robertson are from the collection of Marvin Jones. John Henry Toney is said to
have been plowing when he had a vision that the Lord wanted him to draw.
Since that day in 1994, the artist has used marker on a variety of
surfaces to follow his calling. His major themes are Biblical images,
depictions of idealized women, and pictures of animals, especially cattle.
The four works in this exhibition draw on Biblical stories and personal
reflections to show the perils of sin and the promise of salvation. Born
1928 or 1929 in Alabama, John Henry Toney attended school until about the
7th grade, after which he worked at a cotton mill and at odd
jobs. He lives alone in a trailer near a swamp, drawing inside in cold
weather and under the shade of a tree during the summer. John Henry Toney’s drawings
are from the collection of Marvin Jones. A man of God who realized that
he was meant to be an artist as his fiftieth birthday approached, the
Reverend Albert Wagner creates visionary paintings and assemblages that
deal with the human condition and religious themes. He is a prolific
artist, working in a variety of media including paint and magic marker on
board, readymades that he alters and assembles, and tree roots that he
transforms into crucifixes. He has said that he feels as if an angel
guides him in his work to bring his visions into the world. The Reverend Albert Wagner was
born in Arkansas in 1924 and moved to Cleveland with his mother and
brothers in 1941. He is the minister of the People Love People House of
God in East Cleveland, and a self-taught artist. The works in this exhibition
by the Reverend Albert Wagner are on loan from the artist. Florida
fruit seller and visionary artist Ruby C. Williams takes the bold approach
to her paintings, depicting birds, animals, and humans with house paint on
prepared pieces of plywood. She works in a palette dominated by primary
colors, creating vibrant images around which she often paints sayings or
Bible verses. She attributes the ideas for her images to “the spirit of
the lord” who reveals what and when to paint. Ruby
C. Williams lives in Florida where she runs a roadside produce stand,
paints, and raises money to help children. The paintings by Ruby C. Williams are from the collection of Marvin Jones. |