2006 56″x44″
“In collaboration with the Greater Pittsburgh Art Council, Pittsburgh International Airport, VisitPITTSBURGH brought together a collective of exclusive artworks by 12 Pittsburgh-based artists on London’s vibrant Southbank June 3-9, 2019. Pittsburgh Art on the Bank is a multi-disciplinary showcase by well-known and emerging artists, offering an immersive presentation of the city’s diverse talent and artistry.”
https://www.visitpittsburgh.com/art-on-the-bank/
https://triblive.com/local/pittsburgh-allegheny/pittsburgh-art-to-be-showcased-in-london/
2016, 41” x 49″
2000, 43” x 37”
In endless nights our souls are guided by hidden forces that bless us with a second life surrounded by culture and ancestral worship. We are two bodies, physical and spiritual, living inside one soul with thoughts seen through our eyes and grounded by our feet.
Whose Shame Is This?
2018, 44” x 29”
Vintage sheet music is used to illustrate the evolution of the appropriation of African American imagery. The quilt depicts the cultural gifts brought through the music of the African Diaspora, and illustrates how derogatory caricatures were used to sell music written by white composers.
1997, 45”x 50”
Thank you kind spirit for taking my hand to watch the parade of souls whose triumphant past decorates the halls of histories yet unveiled.
Suddenly my hands create their thoughts and observations.
I see what they see.
I feel what they feel, and touch the smooth fabric as if I’m gliding over mountain tops.
Swift, warm forces help pave the way for me to see the duality of African Ancestors waiting to tell the story of the universe that only God knows.
I’ve remembered torment and pain like a lost child remembers a mother’s embrace, regardless of time.
Daylight dreams of sky-bound spirits help me get through the daily hassles of life.
Suddenly, I touch what is really behind each cloud and remember why we were sent.
— John M. Brewer, Jr., 1997
1989, 60”x 40”
2014, 40” x 40”
2016, 43” x 41”
A call to arms! Remember the women who dreamed, created, and helped clear the brush and plant the seed of the African American cultural experience. Say their names: Sandra German, Shona Jamillah Sharif, Meredith Watson Young
2014, 40” x 40”
1993, 65” x 31”
Goree Island, located off the west coast of Senegal, was the center of the slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries.
“Gory” has a double meaning: The title of this quilt is not accidental, it uses a spelling for the term that is defined by violent, gruesome, brutal, and horrific acts.
The quilt not only depicts the horror of Goree Island, but also the spiritual strength, guided by the ancestors, in the singular figure who has risen above.
2014, 58.5” x 52.5”
2015, 32” x 36.5”
The headline read:
1500 Doomed!
(People’s Press, 1935)
While digging a tunnel at Gauley Bridge, West Virginia, approximately 1500 unprotected miners, mostly African Americans, were overcome by a deadly release of fine particles of silica dust. The African Americans killed were denied burial rights in the nearby white-only cemetery. Instead, hundreds of bodies were taken to Whippoorwills Cemetery in Summersville, West Virginia and buried in unmarked graves.
Not until September 7, 2012 were the grave sites consecrated.
2014, 46” x 40”
2012, 22×26
2003 90”x 50”
2014, 33” x 51.5”
“A cry in happens when something unspeakable forces its way inside. A sudden alien message in your chest, guts. A cry in speaks no words. Like crying out, it silences language.”
from Briefs: Stories for the Palm of the Mind by John Wideman. with permission
2018 33″ x 36″
2002 44”x 31”
Permanent collection in Khartoum, Sudan as part of the U.S. Department of State, Art in Embassies program.
2012, 18.5” x 19”
2012, 42” x 34.5”
