SHU Gallery Hosting Romare Bearden Art Through Feb. 26

FAIRFIELD — An exhibition of 25 works by the renowned 20th Century American artist Romare Bearden (1911–1988) is being presented Sacred Heart University’s Gallery of Contemporary Art until February 26. The exhibition was organized in conjunction with Jerald Melberg Gallery in Charlotte, N.C., which was Mr Bearden’s birthplace.

Mr Bearden was the son of college-educated parents who left North Carolina for Harlem when he was four years old. He spent his formative years in the nexus of the Harlem Renaissance where his home was the gathering place for such artistic and intellectual giants as Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Langston Hughes and Paul Robeson.

Hosted by his mother who was the New York correspondent of The Chicago Defender, it would hardly be surprising to learn that the young man followed in the footsteps of any one of these illustrious houseguests. What distinguishes Mr Bearden is that he pursued virtually all of them.

He received a degree in education from New York University, and wrote and published articles on numerous topics and created political cartoons. He designed costumes and sets for prominent dance and theater companies, illustrated books by influential authors, co-wrote books about African-American art and culture, and composed songs. He was even offered an opportunity to play professional baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics, if he would only agree to “pass as white” — an offer he refused.

Social consciousness was the other driving force in his life. Mr Bearden worked full time as a social worker until he was 63. He was also one of the founders of Spiral, a group of artists actively engaged in the Civil Rights movement that focused on a role that artists might have in the movement.

A prolific artist, Mr Bearden’s works were composed of paintings, collages and prints that reflected the wide range of his intellectual interests and the places he lived. He took his imagery from both the everyday rituals of African American rural life in the South and urban life in the North, melding those American experiences with his personal experiences and with the themes of classical literature, religion, myth, music and daily human ritual.

As Ruth Fine, curator at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., noted in a comprehensive exhibit entitled “The Art of Romare Bearden” in 2003, “One great legacy of Bearden’s art is its insight, that what we share as a global community is equal in both interest and importance to what makes each of us unique.”

The Gallery of Contemporary Art is at 5151 Park Avenue, on Sacred Heart University’s main campus. For information, call 203-365-7650 or visit ArtGallery.SacredHeart.edu.