Renée Stout: Tales of the
Conjure Woman
American University Museum
at the Katzen Arts Center
January 26 - March 13, 2016
Opening Reception: Tonight, Saturday, January 30, 2016, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Opening Reception: Tonight, Saturday, January 30, 2016, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Renée Stout: Tales of the Conjure Woman opens at the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center on January 30, 2016 and will remain on view through March 13, 2016. A gallery talk with the artist will take place on Saturday, January 30, 5-6pm and opening reception will take place 6 - 9pm.
The exhibition features recent work by Washington, DC-based Renée Stout, who is best known for her exploration of vestigial retentions of African cultural traditions as manifested in contemporary America.
For many years, the artist has used the alter ego Fatima Mayfield, a fictitious herbalist/fortuneteller, as a vehicle to role-play and confront issues such as romantic relationships, social ills, or financial woes in a way that is open, creative, and humorous. The exhibition focuses on the artist's assumed role through an array of works in various media. As Stout explains, "The common thread running through bodies of my work of the past several years is the continuing need for self-discovery and the need to understand and make sense of human motives and the way we relate and respond to each other."