Cincinnati Art Museum hosts Whitfield Lovell exhibition

By Darcy Strauss Cincinnati Art Museum The Cincinnati Art Museum presents Whitfield Lovell: Passages, the most comprehensive exhibition of the contemporary artist to date. It features more than 80 works, including evocative multisensory installations, conté crayon drawings and other thought-provoking assemblages. It will be on view through May 26. Lovell is a conceptual artist originally from Bronx, New York. He is most recognized for his drawings, many on weathered wood panels, inspired by his collection of vintage photographs of unidentified African Americans taken between the Emancipation Proclamation (1863) and the Civil Rights Movement (1954—1968). Lovell pairs his drawings with found objects, creating three-dimensional storytelling that brings American history to life. Photo provided For the first time, this exhibition brings together two of Lovell’s experiential, immersive installations, Deep River (2013) and Visitation: The Richmond Project (2001). As Lovell explains, “[These] installations are about memory and heritage and the markings that the past has made — and continues to make — on who we are.” The monumental Deep River documents the perilous journey freedom seekers took by crossing the Tennessee River during the Civil War. Visitation: The Richmond Project is a profound homage to one of the country’s first major Black entrepreneurial...