January 7 - February 3, 2021
Art Breaking Boundaries a Multicultural Exhibit
Uptown goes Downtown breaking art boundaries ... and not just geographically – The Harlem Fine Arts Show and Carter Burden Gallery in Chelsea collaborate to uniquely present seven multicultural older professional artists in a new exhibition featuring social justice and other themes in evocative works of art. The virtual exhibition runs from January 7th thru February 3rd streaming from 548 West 28th Street, #534 in New York City. “Art Breaking Boundaries” is the preview to the 2021 International Harlem Fine Arts Show.
This new virtual art show model is an art collaborative co-curated by Marlena Vaccaro, Carter Burden Gallery (CBG) Curator, and Dion Clarke, President of JWD Enterprises, Inc. and Founder of the Harlem Fine Arts Show (HFAS). “We are pushing the envelope during COVID-19 and reinventing the art scene with 3-D technology bringing the Harlem Fine Arts Show to the Carter Burden Gallery in Chelsea and the world virtually,” said Dion Clark, Founder of Harlem Fine Arts Show. “And now, nothing will stop us from sharing art as a multicultural experience.”
The “Art Breaking Boundaries” exhibit model was key to the Carter Burden Gallery and Harlem Fine Arts Show collaboration. “Carter Burden Gallery is delighted to form a partnership with the Harlem Fine Arts Show. The January exhibit features older professional multicultural artists’ expressions and experiences. The exchange of artists’ work between the Carter Burden Gallery and the HFAS is the beginning of an innovative approach to addressing ageism through a multicultural lens within the art world,” said Marlena Vaccaro, Carter Burden Gallery (CBG) Curator.
The seven multicultural artists featured range from local New Yorkers to those who migrated here from abroad. They have been featured in prestigious galleries and museums, both in the U.S. and internationally, and studied at world-renowned art academic institutions. As older professional multicultural artists, they serve as positive role models that make statements to affect change. The varied works of art exhibited reflect their unique perspectives inspired by the faces and experiences of their individual lives. The exhibiting artists are: Ademola Olugebefola, Cheryl D. Miller, Donna Ladson, Al Johnson, Earlene Cox, Elton Tucker, and Lazarus Tandi.
In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 policies , the exhibit is virtual, until further notice. We are committed to ensure the safety and well-being of our artists, patrons and staff during these challenging times. We invite you to enjoy the virtual exhibit.
About the Harlem Fine Arts Show
As the largest traveling African Diasporic art show in the United States, HFAS prides itself on its uncanny ability to bring people of all different backgrounds together to celebrate fine arts of the African Diaspora. Inspired by the Harlem Renaissance, HFAS provides a platform African Diasporic Visionaries as well as American visual artist to exhibit and sell their artwork. The Harlem Fine Arts show has also created economic empowerment, educational opportunities and professional recognition within he multicultural community. First held in February 2010 in New York City, the Harlem Fine Arts Show has attracted more than 80,000 visitors to venues, including Martha’s Vineyard, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, White Plaines and New York City. Attendees include collectors, art enthusiasts, educators, student and professionals.
About the Carter Burden Gallery
Located in Chelsea, the Carter Burden Gallery is a program of The Carter Burden Network, and is uniquely designed to give a voice to New York City’s re-emerging older professional artists and combat ageism in the arts. The Carter Burden Network is a non-profit organization established in 1971 by the late Carter Burden, a New York City Councilman. Celebrating its 50th year as a leader in aging services, it is an anchor in the greater NYC community.
Earlene Cox
Earlene Hardie Cox’s career as a sculptor began later in life after a 23-year career as an international lawyer and corporate executive. As she got older, she became aware of how art can be one of many tools that can be used to combat Alzheimer's. Sculpting became a medium for her personal battle against this disease which has occurred with some frequency in her family. Sculpting not only allows Cox to use different parts of her brain but it also unleashed the creativity of her hands. Earlene Hardie Cox sculpts the human figure and is largely self-taught; the models for her work are the many people she has met over the course of her life. They are the church ladies with their hats from her childhood, the memories from having been a mother, the people she has met during her years of international travel and people from the many experiences she has had as an African American in this country. Cox states, “They are the faces of every person I have ever seen, Although, I don't always remember their names.”
Since 2008, Earlene has advocated using clay art as therapy to combat Alzheimer’s. Through her affiliation with the Westchester (NY) County Chapter of the Links, Inc. and the Clay Art Center, she created a clay art program for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients at the Wartburg Nursing Home in Mount Vernon. NY. In 2017, in recognition of her work, the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association named Earlene an Alzheimer’s Champion. She is a juried artist at the Clay Art Center (CAC), in Port Chester NY where she has a private studio. She is also a board director and was previously treasurer of the CAC.
Al Johnson
New York-based artist Al Johnson, has amazed many as they witness the artistic directions and paths he has taken in his career as a full-time artist. He attended Pratt Institute, the Albert Pale School of Commercial Arts and the Arts Student League. His artistic journey began by showing his work in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn art galleries. This led him to creating commissioned art projects; show his work in major art galleries both domestically and internationally and being accepted in international artist residency programs. Johnson has exhibited extensively across the world notably including the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum in Japan; the Guangzhou International Art Fair in China; New York City in a juried exhibition curated by Jordan Kantor, during his tenure as Assistant Curator at the Museum of Modern Art; and many more. His artistic experiences include success in both the cinema and fine arts realm—receiving many accolades for his artistic achievements in both motion pictures and mixed media. Johnson describes his paintings as “SOUL-BASED” works—spiritually-expressed and cosmic in nature.
Donna Ladson
New York native Donna Ladson, also known as D’Artist, studied for early childhood education majoring in fine art. She created a following when she appeared as the featured artist for AARP in The Harlem Fine Art Show of New York in 2012. Ladson was also the headliner in AARP’s “Life Reimagined, What to Do When the Nest Gets Empty.” Vivid colors and shapes express the innermost technique of her artistic practice and she labels her style as “Imagination in Color.” Ladson’s work has appeared in galleries throughout the U.S. and Internationally.
Cheryl D. Miller
Cheryl D. Miller, artist, designer and theologian, holds a Master of Science-Communications Design degree from the Pratt Institute, N.Y. and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Maryland Institute College of Art. She also completed some of her foundation studies at the Rhode Island School of Design and also holds a Master of Divinity Degree from The Union Theological Seminary, NYC. Miller’s paintings are expressive, vibrant, and abstract and reflect an excellent control of color and composition. Miller established one of the first black women-owned design firms in New York City in 1987, Cheryl D. Miller Design, Inc. Her visual storytelling of a disenfranchised and marginalized community, as well as the social impact of graphic and corporate communications is award winning and helped to define the Civil Rights Era.
Ademola Olugebefola
Artist Ademola Olugebefola, born in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, moved to Harlem in 1966 right in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. Olugebefola found art to be extremely liberating, and as a cultural activist in the Black Arts Movement he promotes the culture, the beauty and brilliance of color within the African tradition. He has shown work in hundreds of exhibitions, including major American museums, and universities and has exhibited internationally. Ademola Olugebefola’s work can be found in the permanent collections of many distinguished institutions including the New York Public Library, the Shomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; Studio Museum; Hatch Billops Archives; the Nigerian National Archives in West Africa; the Jazzinstitut Darmstadt, in Germany; among many more.
Lazarus Tandi
Artist Lazarus Tandi, born in 1955 is a third-generation sculptor and stone carver in the Bindura District of Zimbabwe. Lazarus along with his brothers, James and Nicholas are known for their work in the Shona tradition, using predominately local soapstone and verdite. Lazarus prefers to sculpt in the very hard semi-precious stone, Verdite or alternatively, hard Opalstone or Fruit Serpentine. Portraying traditional Shona culture, his exquisite heads and busts are well known for their amazing amount of detail. His fine distinctive work has made Lazarus Tandi one of the most sought-after artist in his field. He has exhibited in Australia, Canada and the USA and his work can be found in galleries and private collections all over the world.
Elton Tucker
Elton Tucker, b. 1954, Bronx, New York, is a full-time artist and teaches arts and crafts to children of all ages at New York City After School Programs. Tucker is a graduate of the High School of Art and Design and earned an Associate Degree at the Fashion Institute of Technology. He also studied at the Art Students League of New York. Tucker's work has been shown in numerous solo and group shows. His work has been published in the New York Daily News, AARP, as well as in various greeting cards, calendars, and books covers. He has also illustrated for Women’s Wear Daily. Tucker’s painting “Believe in Yourself” was featured as part of the set design on “The Whoopi Goldberg Show.” Some of his many awards include The NYC Metropolitan Transportation Authority Award, the Noho Business Improvement District Award, Artists Fellowship, Inc., and The Harlem Renaissance Cultural and Living Legend Award. He is also a member of the West Side Arts Coalition, the Audubon Artists and the Harlem Arts Alliance.
Tucker’s paintings are vibrant and full of bold patterns, high energy, and movement. As a native New Yorker, he travels around the city constantly looking out for “interesting colors, textures, shapes and life's emotions.” Through his artwork, Tucker feels he fervently expresses his innermost feelings on a visual and emotional level. “I feel my mission is to produce work people can relate to, get inspiration from and utilize in their everyday lives.”
Installation Views
