The African American experience during the Great Migration of the 20th century is reflected in the exhibition “(re)collection” by Chicago-based artist Nate Young, which will open in the De Pree Art Center and Gallery at Hope College on Monday, Jan. 6, and continue through Thursday, Feb. 6.
Young will deliver an artist’s talk on Thursday, Feb. 6, at 4 p.m. in Cook Auditorium of the De Pree Art Center, with a reception following in the gallery from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The public is invited to the exhibition, artist’s talk and reception. Admission is free.
During the Great Migration, millions of African Americans left the Jim Crow South seeking better lives in the Northeast, Midwest and West. Based on family oral history and relics, “(re)collection” interprets and mythologizes the life of Young’s great-grandfather, who was among those who made the journey.
The initial version of “(re)collection” — which will include new work that Young has created specifically for the exhibition in De Pree — debuted at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond in Virginia in 2017. In its online description, the center notes, “In an emotionally moving and exquisitely crafted exhibition, the artist brings together the hand-made wooden objects for which he is best known, along with jewelry making, printmaking and a sculptural sound installation made during his recent Quirk+VisArts residency. Both personally sourced and historically resonant, (re)collection reflects on the ways in which identity is formed through action and circumstance and transformed by archive and memory.”
In addition to “(re)collection’s” premiere in Richmond, Young’s recent solo exhibitions include “Cleromancy,” moniquemeloche, Chicago (2017); “Stations,” Luce Gallery, Turin, Italy (2016); “The Unseen Evidence of Things Substantiated,” Fabric Workshop and Museum, Philadelphia, (2015); and “But not yet: in the spirit of linguistics,” moniquemeloche, Chicago (2015). His work has been included in many group exhibitions, including “Four Saints in Three Acts,” DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, (2017); “Chicago Invites Chicago,” Galerie Lelong, New York (2016); “Retreat,” curated by Theaster Gates, Richard Gray Gallery, Chicago (2014); the Soap Factory’s “Minnesota Biennial” (2013); “Fore,” Studio Museum in Harlem, New York (2012); and “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” California African American Museum, Los Angeles (2012). His work is in notable collections, including the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, D.C.; Mott Warsh Collection, Flint; and the Fabric Workshop Museum, Philadelphia.
Young is an assistant professor of studio arts at the University of Illinois in Chicago, and is also co-founder and director of the artist-run exhibition space The Bindery Projects, in Minneapolis. He was a 2015 Artist-in-Residence at The Fabric Workshop and Museum, and he is the recipient of the Knight Arts Challenge Fellowship from the Knight Foundation (2014); the Jerome Fellowship for Emerging Artists (2014); and the Bush Fellowship for Visual Artists (2010). He is represented by Monique Meloche Gallery, the same Chicago-based gallery that represented Amy Sherald when she was commissioned to paint the 2018 official portrait of First Lady Michelle Obama for the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Young received his MFA from the California Institute of the Arts in 2009 and BA from Northwestern College in Minnesota in 2004. He attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 2009.
Audience members who need assistance to fully enjoy any event at Hope are encouraged to contact the college's Events and Conferences Office by emailing events@hope.edu or calling 616-395-7222 on weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Educators and others interested in visiting the exhibition with classes or groups are asked to make arrangements in advance by calling the college’s Department of Art and Art History at 616-395-7500 during weekday business hours.
The De Pree Art Center and Gallery is located at 275 Columbia Ave., between 10th and 13th streets. The gallery is open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.