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Maus  Contemporary

 

 

 

"Anyone Can Move a Mountain", curated by Paul Barrett. image: Jerry Siegel, "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007" (detail)"Anyone Can Move a Mountain", curated by Paul Barrett. image: Jerry Siegel, "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007" (detail)

August 19 - October 1, 2022

 

Anyone Can Move a Mountain

 

Michaela Pilar Brown

Richard Dial

Jakob Dwight

Roscoe Hall

Shaun Leonardo

Umar Rashid

Jerry Siegel

Leslie Smith III

and Renée Stout

 

curated by Paul Barrett

 

 

 

 

"We are not makers of history. We are made by history..

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Strength To Love”, published by Harper & Row, 1963



History is subjective. Art, even more so. It was with this in mind that I invited artists from across the United States to write about the works of Thornton Dial. Anyone Can Move a Mountain brings together a range of artists who contributed their reactions to Dial's work, and how they relate to it through their own work. The proof of concept - why I selected these artists - became the catalyst for this project.

Much has been written about Mr. Dial's work, including significant historical publications by Paul Arnett and his father, Bill, who championed many Alabama artists' work for decades before those artists had an appreciative audience at home. The challenge then became to create a new publication that would add to an already rich body of writing. Alongside essays by scholars and art-historians, I asked Michaela Pilar Brown, Richard Dial, Jakob Dwight, Roscoe Hall, Shaun Leonardo, Umar Rashid, Jerry Siegel, Leslie Smith III, and Renée Stout to respond to Thornton Dial's work and to relate it to their own artistic practice. This exhibition, taking its name from a 1999 Thornton Dial assemblage in the upcoming exhibition at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, features works that illustrate what made me connect these artists to the art of Thornton Dial.

On November 12, 2010, a mutual acquaintance brought me to meet Thornton Dial in his studio in Bessemer, Alabama, for the first time. After nearly a decade of work (and two-years of COVID delays), the first retrospective of Dial's entire career will open very near to where Mr. Dial lived and worked for decades.

Thornton Dial: I, Too, Am Alabama at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts at UAB will present seminal works from the 1980s alongside major works from the height of his production and some of his poignant, last works.

I, Too, Am Thornton Dial, presented concurrently at the Samford University Art Gallery before traveling to the Wiregrass Museum of Art, expands this examination with a focus on Dial's outstanding works on paper. This exhibition at Maus Contemporary expands this curatorial exploration even further to create a dialogue across decades and draw connections between Thornton Dial's place in history and, "the fierce urgency of now."

 
- Paul Barrett, May 2022

 

 

 

 

Michaela Pilar Brown

Michaela Pilar Brown "Keep my name outcha mouth"Michaela Pilar Brown "Keep my name outcha mouth"

Michaela Pilar Brown

keep my name outcha mouth

2016

inkjet on paper, edition of 5

22 by 17 in. (ca. 55,9 by 43,2 cm)

 

 

Michaela Pilar Brown "Ready"Michaela Pilar Brown "Ready"

Michaela Pilar Brown

Ready   AP

2018

dye sublimation on aluminum

AP 1/1 of an edition of 5 + 1AP

40 by 30 in. (ca. 101,6 by 76,2 cm)

 

 

Michaela Pilar Brown "Weeping Moon"Michaela Pilar Brown "Weeping Moon"

Michaela Pilar Brown

Weeping Moon

2015

mixed media on paper

30 by 22 in. (ca. 76,2 by 55.9 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

Michaela Pilar Brown "Untitled"Michaela Pilar Brown "Untitled"

Michaela Pilar Brown

Untitled

2015

mixed media on paper

30 by 22 in. (ca. 76,2 by 55.9 cm)

 

permanent collection of the Paul R. Jones Museum, Tuscaloosa, AL

 

 

 

Michaela Pilar Brown "Untitled"Michaela Pilar Brown "Untitled"

Michaela Pilar Brown

Untitled

2015

mixed media on canvas, gilded frame, rope

17 by 7.75 in. (ca. 43,2 by 19,7 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Dial

Richard Dial "Everyday Life"Richard Dial "Everyday Life"

Richard Dial

Everyday Life

2022

metal, paint, fabric, resin

28 by 33.5 in.  H 60.25 in. (ca. 71,1 by 85,1 cm  H ca. 153 cm)

 

 

Richard Dial "First Date"Richard Dial "First Date"

Richard Dial

First Date

2022

metal, paint

26 by 34 in.  H 69 in. (ca. 66 by 86,4 cm  H ca. 175,3 cm)

 

 

Richard Dial "Moses", ca. 1986Richard Dial "Moses", ca. 1986

Richard Dial

Moses

ca. 1986

metal

24.5 by 30.25 in.  H 56.5 in. (ca. 62,2 by 76,8 cm  H ca. 143,5 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jakob Dwight

Jakob Dwight "Analysand No.11"Jakob Dwight "Analysand No.11"

Jakob Dwight

Analysand No.11  (11059A)

2022

acrylic on canvas

53.5 by 44 in. (ca. 135,9 by 111,8 cm)

 

 

Jakob Dwight "Analysand No.72"Jakob Dwight "Analysand No.72"

Jakob Dwight

Analysand No.72  (72QV12)

2022

acrylic on canvas

55 by 42.5 in. (ca. 139,7 by 107,9 cm)

 

 

Jakob Dwight "Analysand (53188)"Jakob Dwight "Analysand (53188)"

Jakob Dwight

Analysand  (53188)

2022

acrylic on canvas

53.25 by 41 in. (ca. 135,2 by 104,1 cm)

 

 

Jakob Dwight "Analysand (11059Z)"Jakob Dwight "Analysand (11059Z)"

Jakob Dwight

Analysand  (11059Z)

2022

acrylic on canvas

53.25 by 41 in. (ca. 135,2 by 104,1 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

Jakob Dwight "Analysand 72QV11)Jakob Dwight "Analysand 72QV11)

Jakob Dwight

Analysand  (72QV11)

2022

acrylic on canvas

53.25 by 41 in. (ca. 135,2 by 104,1 cm)

 

 

 

 

 

Roscoe Hall

Roscoe Hall "Brixton 76"Roscoe Hall "Brixton 76"

Roscoe Hall

Brixton 76

2022

acrylic, gold leaf, and ink on canvas

20 by 16 in. (ca. 50,8 by 40,6 cm)

 

 

Roscoe Hall "Noma Boy"Roscoe Hall "Noma Boy"

Roscoe Hall

Noma Boy

2022

acrylic, ink, cannas, sativa shatter, time, Stereolab,

and La Croix/pamplemousse on canvas

20 by 24 in. (ca. 50,8 by 61 cm)

 

 

Roscoe Hall "Living Off Borrowed Time"Roscoe Hall "Living Off Borrowed Time"

Roscoe Hall

Living Off Borrowed Time

2022

acrylic, charcoal, ink, burlap, Sly and the Family Stone, slight anger,

indica 5mg gummie, Gatorade, and peace on canvas

20 by 20 in. (ca. 50,8 by 50,8 cm)

 

 

 

 

 

Shaun Leonardo

Shaun Leonardo "Keith Lamont Scott (drawings 1-3)"Shaun Leonardo "Keith Lamont Scott (drawings 1-3)"

Shaun Leonardo

Keith Lamont Scott  (drawings 1 - 3)

2017

charcoal on paper, three individually framed elements

each drawing 8.5 by 11 in. (ca. 21,6 by 28 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

Shaun Leonardo "Freddy Perreira (drawing 2)"Shaun Leonardo "Freddy Perreira (drawing 2)"

Shaun Leonardo

Freddy Perreira  (drawing 2)

2019

charcoal on paper, with mirrored tint on frame

artist frame incl. 53.5 by 54.5 in. (ca. 135,9 by 138,4 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

Umar Rashid

Umar Rashid "Atlas and his daughters in the Horsehead Nebula"Umar Rashid "Atlas and his daughters in the Horsehead Nebula"

Umar Rashid

Atlas and his daughters in the Horsehead Nebula

2022

acrylic, ink, and mica flake on canvas

48 by 48 in. (ca. 121,9 by 121,9 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

 

 

 

Jerry Siegel

Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"

Jerry Siegel

Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007

2007/2022

archival inkjet print

20 by 30 in. (ca. 50,8 by 76,2 cm)

 

 

Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"

Jerry Siegel

Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007

2007/2022

archival inkjet print

20 by 30 in. (ca. 50,8 by 76,2 cm)

 

 

Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"Jerry Siegel "Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007"

Jerry Siegel

Thornton Dial, McCalla, AL, 2007

2007/2022

archival inkjet print

20 by 30 in. (ca. 50,8 by 76,2 cm)

 

 

 

 

 

Leslie Smith III

Leslie Smith III "Silent Treatment"Leslie Smith III "Silent Treatment"

Leslie Smith III

Silent Treatment

2016

oil on shaped canvas

36 by 45.5 in. (ca. 91,5 by 115,5 cm)

 

 

Leslie Smith III "Only a Paper Moon"Leslie Smith III "Only a Paper Moon"

Leslie Smith III

Only a Paper Moon

2015

oil on shaped canvas

51.5 by 52 in. (ca. 130,8 by 132,1 cm)

 

 

Leslie Smith III "Five Sided Disposition"Leslie Smith III "Five Sided Disposition"

Leslie Smith III

Five Sided Disposition

2016

oil on shaped canvas

53 by 50 in. (ca. 134,6 by 127 cm)

 

 

Leslie Smith III "Night Mass"Leslie Smith III "Night Mass"

Leslie Smith III

Night Mass

2013

oil on shaped canvas

27 by 27 in. (ca. 68,6 by 68,6 cm)

 

 

 

 

 

Renée Stout

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House"Renée Stout "Hoodoo House"

Renée Stout

Hoodoo House

2022

mixed media

as installed approx. 91 by 63 by 7 in. (ca. 231,1 by 160 by 17,8 cm)

 

private US collection

 

 

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail

 

 

 

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", top elementRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", top element

Renée Stout "Hoodoo House", detailRenée Stout "Hoodoo House", detail