‘Young, Gifted and Black’ exhibit opens at WFU Hanes Art Gallery
Clifford Owens
![‘Young, Gifted and Black’ exhibit opens at WFU Hanes Art Gallery](https://wschronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/CliffordOwensWFU-680x365_c.jpg)
Hanes Art Gallery at Wake Forest University is pleased to announce the opening of ”Young, Gifted and Black: The Lumpkin-Boccuzzi Family Collection of Contemporary Art,” an exhibition that highlights artists of African descent whose work explores identity, politics and art history. The exhibit opened on Jan. 31 and will run through March 29.
The exhibition gathers and elevates an emerging generation of contemporary artists who are engaging with the work of their predecessors while finding different ways to address the history and meaning of Blackness in their work. The group includes well-known artists David Hammons, Kerry James Marshall, Mickalene Thomas, Henry Taylor and Kara Walker, as well as a younger generation gaining wider recognition, including Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Sadie Barnette, Cy Gavin, Arcmanoro Niles, Jennifer Packer and others. The survey is organized around four themes: dramatic use of color, reclamation of the color black, materiality (nontraditional materials), and an expanded idea of portraiture.
On Feb. 5 there will be an “Evening with Clifford Owens,” acclaimed mixed media and performance artist, writer, and curator, as he presents ”Your Head is Connected to Your Body,” an audience-sensitive, performance-based lecture exploring his artistic practice. The talk begins at 5:30 p.m. in Scales 110. Following the talk, the Opening Reception of ”Young, Gifted and Black” will take place at 6:30 p.m. in Hanes Art Gallery. To RSVP and for more information go to https://hanesgallery.wfu.edu/event/clifford-owens-artist-talk-young-gifted-and-black-opening-reception/.
Mark your calendars for our first Hanes After Hours event on Feb. 6 from 5:30 -8 p.m. Once a month, the gallery will be open late for an evening of creativity and connection. This month we’re partnering with WFU’s Intercultural Center to celebrate Black History Month. There will be DJ sets by DJ El, a performance by AfriCaSa, a creative workshop with Wakerspace, guided tours of the exhibition, a pop-up exhibit by the LAM Museum, and light refreshments. To RSVP and for more information, go to https.://hanesgallery.wfu.edu/event/hanes-after-hours/.