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ALBANY – Driven to Abstraction: Works by Contemporary American Artists opens at the New York State Museum on Saturday, January 28, featuring the work of 11 artists of African descent, including two from the Capital District.

In accordance with this year’s theme for Black History Month (in February) – “Celebrating Community: A Tribute to Black Fraternal, Social and Civic Institutions” – Driven to Abstraction is a tribute to the 30-year-old Capital District-based Black Dimensions in Art Inc. (BDA). BDA is a non-profit organization of artists, craftsmen and art enthusiasts who work together to stimulate interest in the creative expression of African-American artists. Stephen J. Tyson, the exhibition’s guest curator, is a member of BDA.

Two area artists – George Simmons of Albany and Tyson of Clifton Park – are among the artists of the African Diaspora, whose works are represented in the exhibition. On exhibit through March 26th, the works range from those emerging in the postwar years of the 1940s and the Civil Rights era of the 1950s and ‘60s to the postmodern era of the 1980s and ‘90s.

During the early years of Abstract Expressionism in post-World War II America, gifted trailblazers like Hale Woodruff, Norman Lewis, and Harlan Jackson demonstrated—contrary to the opinions of certain scholars and critics—that artists of color could indeed use abstraction in art as a viable means for conveying the depths of human intelligence and emotion. Although they may not have received the recognition that they deserved, their displays of courage, commitment, and artistic integrity have continued to inspire succeeding generations of artists—including many of the second- and third-generation abstract artists in this exhibition.

Other artists represented in the exhibition are Frank Wimberley, Ed Clark, Bill Hutson, Nanette Carter, Gregory Coates, Ralph Raphael Fleming, Howardena Pindell, Angelo Rombley and Herbert Gentry.

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Each work in Driven to Abstraction is the result of a creative process in which the artist has

enacted a balanced arrangement of lines, shapes, colors, or textures within a two-dimensional format. The

materials used range from canvas, paper, charcoal, and oil to more recent technological products and media like carbon paper ink, Mylar, and digital photography.

Driven to Abstraction is co-sponsored by Black Dimensions in Art with partial funding from the New York State Council on Arts.

The New York State Museum is a program of the New York State Department of Education, the University of the State of New York and the Office of Cultural Education. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located at the Empire State Plaza on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free and the Museum is fully accessible. Further information about Museum programs and events can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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