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The Portlock Black Cultural Center is exhibiting the Journey Series of award-winning Philadelphia artist Barbara Bullock through April 22.
Bullock will speak about her work and influences during a brown bag talk 12:15-1 p.m. Friday, March 25, at the center, 101 McCartney Street. The event is free and open to the public.
Bullock has developed her distinctive approach through travel to places such as Mali, Ethiopia, South Africa, Ghana, Spain, Egypt, Morocco, Senegal, Mexico, Brazil, and Jamaica. Her African heritage and interest in the history and continuing experience of the African Diaspora is an integral part of her work. She is highly regarded for the dynamic motifs she incorporates into her collages and large-scale wall hangings.
“I am concerned with the continuation of movement, energy, beliefs, and spirit in my paintings,” Bullock says. “My work is about connections and retentions. Shaped paintings give me the freedom to define statements I wish to make; they are direct conversations with the viewer. The shapes can become paintings within paintings. Working with collage, I see people as layers of stories, and habitats and places as energies.”
Richly colored patterns in Bullock’s painting demonstrate mastery of color and design. The heavy watercolor paper is then cut into shapes and assembled into life-size figures that seem to dance off the walls.
Bullock has studied at Hussian School of Arts and Samuel S. Fleisher Art Memorial, both in Philadelphia. Her honors include the Pew Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Fellowship, the New Jersey Governor’s Award in Arts Education, and a City of Philadelphia One Percent for Art commission at Philadelphia International Airport. She has exhibited at Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, The African American Museum in Philadelphia, and Painted Bride Art Center, among other locations.
The exhibit is sponsored by Lafayette’s Office of Intercultural Development and women’s studies program as part of Women’s History Month. The Portlock Black Cultural Center Gallery is open 9-noon and 1-5 p.m. weekdays. For more information, call (610) 330-5819.