On September 7, the Washington Print Club hosted a visit to Joyce Wellman's studio to see her prints and learn more about the process behind creating them. The Washington Print Club nurtures a greater understanding and appreciation of printmaking in enthusiasts of all sorts—collectors, artists, scholars and students—to apply for membership.
Photo: Sharon Farmer
The Big 5, 2005. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 72 x 50 in. The Phillips Collection, Gift of the artist, 2022.
Sunday, October 27, 12PM
Location: EFA Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, 323 W 39th St, New York, NY 10018
Join acclaimed artist Joyce Wellman for an immersive monotype workshop. Whether you're a beginner or experienced, this hands-on session offers personalized guidance to help you create unique, expressive prints.
Don't miss this opportunity to learn from a master in a creative, inspiring environment.
All materials included, with a suggested donation of $40. Space limited - RSVP Required. Email: rbpmw@efanyc.org
In conjunction with two-site exhibition:
Where We At Black Women Artists Now! Paper Works July 20 – November 2, 2024 | Blackburn Study Center
Part 2: Where We At Black Women Artists Now! Weeksville Heritage Site
Saturday, October 26, 3PM
Discussion | Where We At Black Women Artists Now! | Blackburn Study Center
Following the exhibition Where We At, Black Women Artists. Now! Paper Works at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts' Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City, a second exhibition will revisit the legacy of Where We At Black Women Artists nearly five decades later. Forward Ever—Celebrating Where We At Black Women Artists, (1971-Now) will be on view at the Weeksville Heritage Center in Brooklyn, New York, from August 27-October 25, 2024.
Presenting works from members Claudia Aziza Gibson-Hunter, Sadikisha Collier, Jerrolyn Crooks deGracia, Charlotte Ka, Dindga McCannon, Ann Tanksley, Joyce Wellman, and Viola Burley Leak, this selection of works reflect on the broader narrative of Black women in art. This exhibition invites us to question how we can sustain spaces that nurture the artistic pursuits of those at the furthest margins, reject the gatekeeping that stifles creativity, and transcend our silos as we harness the power of the collective to support each other on life’s journey. Curated by Erica Harper & Sika Bonsu.
Image: Dindga McCannon, Pat is Pregnant, 1977. Courtesy of Fridman Gallery
Where We At, Black Women Artists. Now! Paper Works will be on view July 20-November 2, 2024 at the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts' Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop in New York City. Opening Reception: Saturday, July 20th; 3-6PM. Where We At Now! Part Two will be on view at the Weeksville Society Gallery August - October 2024. Opening Celebration: Saturday, August 27th, 6-9PM.
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About the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop exhibition: Featured artists are some of 60 or so women who were in the pioneering and first group of African American Women artists called Where We At, Black Women Artists. We were founded in 1971 by Kay Brown, Dindga McCannon and Faith Ringgold and were active for 25 years.
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"This exhibition delves into the artistic achievements and contributions of Robert Blackburn (1920-2003). The printmaking workshop he founded served as a welcoming space for American and International artists of diverse backgrounds to connect with like-minded individuals, fostering an environment for learning and producing fine prints. Blackburn prioritized the workshop's operation over his own art making practice, dedicating himself to providing opportunities that nurtured fellow artists which often placed his own work in a secondary role."
In addition to Blackburn's own prints, the exhibition includes works by 42 artists "who benefited from his expertise and the exemplary standards he set," including Wellman.
See the full online exhibition and selected works by Joyce Wellman. April 16-July 31, 2024.
Images, left-right: Joyce Wellman, Family Story 4 to 5, 1980. Open bite etching with simultaneous color printing, image: 19 7/8 x 15 5/8 in. sheet: 30 x 22 1/2 in.; Family Story 4 to 5 (red), 1982. Open bite etching with simultaneous color printing, image: 19 7/8 x 15 5/8 in., sheet: 30 x 22 1/2 in.
"Joyce Wellman’s body of work offers a complex visual system of coded messages interlaced with hidden signs, sacred symbols, whispers, and dreams." - Adrienne L. Childs
Joyce Wellman's The Big Five is on view now with other works from The Phillips' permanent collection. Learn more.
Joyce Wellman’s works Third Eye (L) and Untitled Sky (R) will be included in the group exhibition The Oracle Said “Be Still,” curated by Renée Stout, and Newly Selected Artist, Shamila Chaudhary at IA&A Hillyer October 7-29.
“During the height of Covid, I created a print that featured a disembodied head (the ‘oracle’), in which it suggested in a speech bubble that we should ‘be still.’ In that stillness I had hoped that we would all take the time to care for ourselves, reassess our lives and re-focus on the things that are most important.” — Renée Stout
Following the premonition of the “oracle,” Stout chose not to place importance on showcasing the featured artists’ most recent works. Instead, she selected works by the artists that collectively evoke a variety of thoughts, moods, and feelings that can be articulated with words like reflective, wistful, introspective, pensive, playful, forlorn, spiritual, and joyful.
Pondering the works, Stout experienced moments of reverie, solace, escape, and a deep sense of longing for something undefinable. In many instances, the titles of the works offer portals into their own narratives and trajectories. It’s that quiet, undefinable, and elusive thing, simultaneously serendipitous and melancholy, to the point of bittersweetness that Stout was aiming to present to the viewer to muse upon in their own way, to hopefully find some peace within the stillness.
Featuring artists: Cheryl Edwards, Sharon Farmer, Cianne Fragione, Adrienne Gaither, Elaine Qiu, Ellyn Weiss, Joyce Wellman, and Trevor Young
Images: The Third Eye, 1992. Etching, 20 x 16 in. and Untitled Sky, 1985. Etching, 20 x 16 in. 20 Eds.
Joyce Wellman’s artist book Mutual 3, 5, 7 is featured in the exhibition Decade of Tradition: Highlights from the Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Collection at the Georgia Museum of Art through July 3, 2024.
In 2012, Larry and Brenda Thompson gave 100 works of art by African American artists to the Georgia Museum of Art, mirroring the original donation of 100 American paintings by museum founder Alfred Heber Holbrook. In addition, they endowed a curatorial position to steward this collection to help fulfill the museum’s vision of an inclusive canon of American art. This exhibition includes works from the 2011 traveling exhibition “Tradition Redefined,” which preceded the gift, as well as subsequent works added in recent years that have not been on view in other galleries. These works celebrate the expansion of the museum’s permanent collection through this transformative gift of works by African American artists.
On view with recently installed works from The Phillips' permanent collection. This iteration was curated by Sue Frank.
Learn more about visiting The Phillips Collection, including address, admission fees, and operating hours.
Joyce Wellman, The Big Five, 2005. Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 72 x 60 in. Gift of the artist, 2022
Join me for a two-part program at the Phillips Collection in conjunction with the exhibition Pour, Tear, Carve: Material Possibilities in the Collection, where my work is included.
Artist Talk: April 27, 6:30–7:30PM
Learn about the artist’s practice during a talk in the exhibition galleries facilitated by Phillips Assistant Curator Camille Brown.
Workshop: April 29, 2-4PM
Return for a hands-on workshop led by the artist to apply what you learned to your own creations. All materials provided.
Registration Open/In-Person. Registration required; capacity is limited.
$16, Seniors $12, Students $10, free for members. Includes museum admission.
Images: Left: Joyce Wellman, credit: Sharon Farmer; Joyce Wellman, Journey Through Migration, 1985, Color viscosity etching, 22 x 16 in., The Phillips Collection, Gift of the artist, 2022.
The Phillips Collection highlights the diversity and intricacy of its permanent collection in Pour, Tear, Carve: Material Possibilities in the Collection. The multi-faceted exhibition on view March 18–May 14, 2023, features over 65 works from the Phillips’s vast permanent collection and delves into how artists have used both historic and contemporary art materials as conduits of meaning and to generate discussion.
Wow! Friends and lovers of art, 2023 is going to be a blast!
First, I am a featured artist on Now Be Here’s social media accounts (see Facebook and Instagram). It is a wonderful organization dedicated to promoting women artists. I am honored, excited, and having fun being featured on their social media feeds.
Upcoming!
My work is featured in a group exhibition at The Phillips Collection—Pour, Tear, Carve, Material Possibilities in the Collection, from March 18 -May 14, 2023. Material Possibilities considers how artists have utilized historic and contemporary art materials to act as conduits of meaning. The show is culled from the Phillips’ permanent collection, and my featured etching is Journey Thru Migration.
Look out for more from me this year, including “Requiem for a Numbers Player”—the movie!
"I'm so excited!"
Always,
Joyce
Exhibited in the group exhibition Imagine: Celebrating Black Female Creativity at the Featherstone Center for the Arts, Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts, August 7-September 5, 2022. Curated by Adrienne L. Childs.
Today's #TBT is to Autumn Passages, made in conjunction with Joyce Wellman's 2005 exhibition Chance and Other Musings, a solo exhibition at the North Carolina A&T State Museum Gallery, Greensboro, North Carolina.
The Big Five, 2005. Acrylic on canvas, 72 x 60 in. The Phillips Collection.
Journey Through Migration, 1985. Color viscosity etching, 30 x 20 in.