Rachelle Puryear: 'Word and Image' at the Saint Louis Art Museum

Tuesday, 24 October 2006 11:06

St. Louis, MO - The Saint Louis Art Museum announces the October 27 opening of Rachelle Puryear: Word and Image, a collection of seven colorful etchings.  Simply titled 7, the portfolio is inspired by the work of poets of African descent, including Langston Hughes, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Anne Spencer, Mari Evans, John Pepper, John Hall and Sonia Sanchez. 

Each etching is framed with a typeset rendition of the poem that accompanies it, evoking both the obvious and the elusive metaphor in Puryear’s illustrations.  Displayed together, these works offer the opportunity to contemplate how poems and images contribute to a recollected sense of African-American culture and community.

An active printmaker in Sweden since 1974, Puryear (American, born 1947) attended the Swedish Royal Academy of Art and has a master’s degree in African art history.

Curated by Eric Lutz, Rachelle Puryear: Word and Image will be on view in Gallery 321 through February 25, 2007.

The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the nation’s leading comprehensive art museums with collections that include works of art of exceptional quality from virtually every culture and time period.  Areas of notable depth include Oceanic art, pre-Columbian art, ancient Chinese bronzes and European and American art of the late 19^th and 20^th centuries, with particular strengths in 20^th century German art.  The Museum offers a full range of exhibitions and educational programming generated independently and in collaboration with local, national, and international partners.  Visit: www.slam.org