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TSU Art Faculty Biannual Exhibition 2024
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2024
TSU Art Faculty Biannual Exhibition 2024 at the University Museum
Houston, TX — The University Museum is proud to announce an upcoming exhibition featuring the exceptional works of esteemed art faculty from Texas Southern University’s Visual and Performing Arts Department. The exhibition, set to open on Saturday, August 24th, 2024, will present new and recent works by Leamon Green, Rosine Kouamen, Andrea Miranda, Kingsley Onyeiwu, Robert Riojas III, and Alvia J. Wardlaw. Please join us for our opening reception on Friday, August 23rd from 6-8PM to explore these works, meet the artists, and enjoy a night of creativity and conversation.
Exhibition Details:
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Title: TSU Art Faculty Biannual Exhibition 2024
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Opening Date: Saturday, August 24th, 2024
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Exhibition Dates: August 24th – October 6th
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Opening Reception: Friday, August 23rd from 6-8PM
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Location: University Museum, 3100 Cleburne St, Houston, Texas 77004
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Hours: Tuesday through Saturday, 10AM-2PM
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Admission: Always Free
About the Artists:
Leamon Green earned the BFA in Painting from the Cleveland Institute of Art. He was awarded the MFA degree from Tyler School of Art, Temple University. Green has lived in Houston since 1990 and has taught at Texas Southern University since 1996. As painting professor, Green sets an example for the students as an artist/academician. A highly regarded artist, Green is represented by Hooks-Epstein Galleries. He completed in 1998 a commission for Bush Intercontinental Airport, Terminal B. His art is also permanently installed outdoors in the Courts District in Downtown Houston. Green is represented in numerous museums and private collections.
Professor Green has been the coordinator of the Tanzania Study Abroad Program for the past several years. With other Texas Southern faculty, he has taken over 100 students to East Africa where they have studied the history and culture of the region at the University of Dar Es Salaam. In 2007, as a Fulbright Fellow, Professor Green studied and taught for a year in Tanzania. Many works in this exhibition were inspired by his time spent in Tanzania and Zanzibar.
States the artist:
“Although the artwork fits into the category of painting, speaking accurately it is an amalgamation of traditional painting, drawing, printmaking, and collage processes. Content is derived from reflecting on similarities and differences in cultures. Specifically, the imagery reflects the complicated definition of being African American in an increasingly global community. The figures are anonymous portraits of characters or types, who could be family members, either yours or mine. There are clues to identities, patterns viewed in the clothing or the surrounding space, historical African or European objects, all placed in ways that support the figures. For myself, one’s identity is an accumulation of cultures one meets both directly and indirectly.”
Alvia J. Wardlaw, a Professor of Art History in the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, has taught art history to legions of students over the past thirty years. Her interest in photography began at an early age, and she continued to display her photographs while in college and graduate school. A graduate of Jack Yates Senior High School, Wardlaw received the B.A. in art history from Wellesley College, the M.A. in art history from the Institute of Fine Arts at New York University and the Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. Her dissertation focused on the art of John T. Biggers and served as the foundation for a major retrospective on the artist organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Dr. Wardlaw has served as Director/Curator of the University Museum for the past twenty four years. The museum has presented over sixty exhibitions and numerous special events and symposia during this period. With a dedicated staff, she has introduced history, culture and art to the university and beyond in a museum setting. As a curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, Wardlaw spent twenty-two years at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston developing numerous award-winning and original exhibitions, and adding major works of art to the permanent collection. Dr. Wardlaw is now an honorary trustee at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, a Board Member for the Orange Show Foundation, and a member of the Scholarly Advisory Committee for the National Museum of African History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution.
States the artist:
“I had heard the song Knysna Blue many times by the South African singer Abdullah Ibrahim, and I have always appreciated it for its haunting melody. It was not until I traveled to South Africa that I could fully appreciate the song for its equally haunting lyrics. He sings of the resilience of his people and the beauty of Cape Town. Through photography, such beauty and struglgle can be shared. I want my photographs to take you on your own journey.”
Kingsley Onyeiwu:
States the artist:
“At a very young age, living in Lagos, Nigeria, I became influenced by the beautiful animations and child-friendly graphics I saw on television. Growing up I sought to replicate those animations I saw with determination and commitment. It was these habits that drove me into realizing my talents during my teenage period, and eventually initiate me into the world of art. As a youth, I have learned to nurture my talent and channel it into creating works that are aesthetically pleasing to me. When I setup to make a painting, I hold within my thoughts the goals I aim to achieve; to visually communicate with viewers both mentally and emotionally.
As an aspiring artist, I make my work define my aesthetic, the beauty of humanism in art. My belief is that art and the human figure are interlaced. Realizing beauty in works of art means producing figurative works that encompasses the versatile topic I present with each work of art. This could range from examining universal socio-political issues to the domestic aspect of relating to one’s own self. As a student, I am constantly learning to work in the manner of the classical and contemporary painters such as Diego Velasquez, Caravaggio, and William Bouguereau. Primarily Kehinde Wiley because, through the contemporary painter, I have learned to embrace afro-centric works and also realize the beauty of being of African descent; as a result, embedding African themes into my work has become a part of preference. I prefer making my work look life like because it is aesthetically pleasing to me and, because I want my viewers to easily interpret the message, I try to convey with each work of art I produce.
Seeing myself as always being a student of Art, I visualize the branch of drawing and painting as an endless array of possibilities involving mediums, I can use to create my works to themes and subjects that I can explore. Being committed and ever zealous about making works of art, I perceive my present body of work as a testament to my endeavor to become a better and professional artist in the future.”
Robert Riojas III lives and works in Houston, Texas. As a teenager he became fond of Houston’s diverse artist community and began a serious engagement with the mediums of painting, and sculpture. Supported by family members who instilled in him a strong work ethic and knowledge of building, Robert graduated from Texas Southern University in 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts. Combining his background with the art education he began receiving at TSU, Robert’s artistic sensibilities developed into a more expansive and personal vision. As an artist Robert is compelled to create a body of work that focuses on advancing environmental concerns by promoting the creative use of recycled materials and green spaces.
In 2016 Robert had the opportunity to participate in the Project Row Houses Summer Studio Residency Program, where he was able to introduce a site-specific aspect to his work. Utilizing in his exhibition, materials that spoke to the historic and present condition of the neighborhood of Third Ward, as well as to his own personal and familial history. In the summer of 2017, he participated in the Yale Summer Teachers Institute in Technical Art History (STITAH), an intensive week-long professional development program for art history and conservation.
States the artist:
“In the realm of my artistic vision, I seek to unveil the inherent potential for restoration and regeneration within the weathered human condition. The deforestation of emotions, an ever-present metaphor, casts a shadow over our dystopian world. However, even amidst the bleakness, a glimmer of light persists, illuminating the path towards inner transformation. Central to my artistic exploration is the depiction of an individual's profound journey, punctuated by subconscious turning points. Through my paintings, I strive to capture these pivotal moments, weaving narratives and sharing fragments of past occurrences. While each piece is inherently conceptual, I purposefully distort forms to evoke an expressive impact, stirring emotions and igniting introspection.
Vivid colors, symbolic imagery, geometric elements, and real-life subject matter converge to infuse profound meaning into the emotional process underlying each creation. Through my work as a contemporary romanticism artist, I aim to convey the belief that amidst the discarded fragments of our world, genuine and virtuous aspects are waiting to be discovered. As I reclaim materials, breathing new life into forgotten relics, they undergo an immediate reevaluation, reclaiming their significance in a world that often overlooks their inherent worth.
Through the synthesis of storytelling, symbolism, and emotional resonance, I invite viewers to join me on a transformative journey. It is my fervent belief that by exploring the depths of the human spirit, we can find solace, healing, and renewal. Each stroke of paint, each brushstroke, is imbued with the power to ignite a sense of hope, to reimagine what was once broken, and to witness the resilience of the human spirit in its infinite capacity for restoration and regeneration. I present a collection that encapsulates the essence of the human experience—an exploration of the profound depths within each individual, a celebration of the fragments that make us whole. Through the fusion of conceptual concepts, distorted forms, and vibrant hues, I offer a glimpse into the emotional landscapes that shape our existence, reminding us of the beauty that arises from the reevaluation of discarded treasures.”
Andrea Miranda earned her B.A. in Art and M.A. in Humanities from the University of Houston College System. Her concentrations focused on art education, studio arts, and digital media. She enjoys teaching art, has gathered experience from working in special education, and continues to find various interdisciplinary approaches to help artists further their development. She interned, worked, and volunteered in public, private, nonprofit, and organizational art education programs for the past 23 years. Miranda also wrote articles, created digital art for CBS online and various affiliated broadcast stations, contributed to art services for various fundraisers, and currently mentors and counsels students and business owners in multimedia and technology.
Andrea Miranda joined the Texas Southern University family in August of 2022. She has been working with students and faculty to increase student success and help plan and achieve their professional goals.
Miranda is a married native Houstonian with ancestral ties to Creole Louisiana and the predominantly Mexican valley region of South Texas. Her husband and daughter are both artists and share a love of all things digital media. In addition to teaching, She volunteers with the TSU Tiger Art Club, working on new art projects and learning new ways to produce digital art.
States the artist:
“I have been an artist all of my life. Before I was a year old, my father showed me how to draw. We used to watch Saturday morning cartoons and he would draw Justice League characters. During my pre kindergarten years, he showed me how to set up, install programs, write, and run programs. As I grew up, I combined my artistic interests with digital media artistry.
My works have been primarily focused on emoting the human and animal condition through character pose, and physical condition. Most of my work is for illustrating graphic art novels, book covers, logos, and scenes for suspense short stories. These works have empty spaces surrounding the subjects to serve as a holding place for textual passages, typography, titles, stories, articles, technical writing, or commercial concepts.
These works have been featured online and other works have been published for various major broadcast companies such as CBS, their affiliated radio stations, several educational institutions, and small businesses. In the past, I have made larger projects on drywall, banner paper, and butcher paper for personal, sporting, and special events.
To create these works, I have used and incorporated materials such as acrylic paints, Prisma colors, watercolor pencils, oil pastels, chalk pastels, linoleum pads, and various inks, on canvas or multimedia paper.”
Rosine Kouamen was born in Douala, Cameroon. She immigrated to the United States as a teenager where she received her secondary education. She earned a BA at Washington and Lee University, a BFA from San Francisco Art Institute, and an MFA from the University of Houston. She uses personal and collective narratives in her work, which reflect the nostalgia of a vibrant culture juxtaposed with the current global climate. Narratives, whether true or re-imagined, are an important and intrinsic part of how identity is formed. She endeavors to capture the transformation of culture through her artwork, to create visual narratives expressing cultural memory in the past and in the present, and to engage with how people perceive themselves in the future. Rosine embraces Pan-Africanism in her exploration of the multitudes of identities that form black culture. She has participated in shows at Art League Houston, Lawndale Art Center, DiverseWorks, Texas A&M, and the University Museum at TSU. She currently lives and works in the Sunnyside Community in Houston, TX.
This exhibition celebrates the diverse artistic expressions of Texas Southern University’s art faculty, offering a platform to showcase their individual talents and innovative approaches.
For more information or media inquiries, please contact:
University Museum
(713) 313 7145
