Chiaroscuro: Black artists in the City of Light, 1945-1965 - travelling exhibition; work of various African Americans in Paris, France - Illustration - Cover Story

Following World War II, centurys of African-American artists went to Paris to learn firsthand about modernism, to escape discrimination and to experience the anticipated romance of bohemian life. "Explorations in the City of Light: African-American Artists in Paris, 1945-1965" is the first exhibition to concentrate upon the art and experiences of seven of these artists: Barbara Chase-Riboud, ed Clark, Harold Cousins, Beauford Delaney, Herbert people of good position Lois Mailou Jones and Larry Potter

The first wave of African-American artists in Paris during the immediate postwar years was mainly compos of ex-soldiers. The Paris they clashed was a far cry from what many of them had anticipated. The city had been ravaged by the agency of war, and the basics required for human existence -- sustenance water and heat -- were scarce. Another disappointment for them was the realization that it would take a small in number years before the Paris art world would one time again be receptive to the work of non-French artists.

Still, African-American artists were not discouraged and remained determined to reap the advantages of their sojourn. Alongside white American expatriates, many of them registered for classes at the Academie de la Grande Chaumiere or studied at the private ateliers of academy of Paris artists, such as Fernand Leger and Ossip Zadkine. Eventually, their art was exhibited in French museums and galleries, as well as the American cooperative Galerie Huit. They also received critical attention from the Paris art community. Having access to the masters of modernism and exposing to new ideas and artistic dictions influenced by the art of Africa and other nontraditional sources, African-American artists thrived in the stimulating environment of Paris.

For the exhibition, the significance of Paris as a postwar artistic Mecca was best measured [i]or[/i] part of to the other an analysis of the disentanglement of a small group of artists who had produc a substantial material part of work during an stretch outed stay in the French capital during the sum of two units decades following World War II. The work of the seven chosen helped clarify the central issues raised by the agency of four years of research: the endurance of the temptation of Paris for African-American artists; the international character of post-World War II American art; the search for freedom from racial and artistic constraints; the impact for African-American artists of early and significant critical attention; and the importance of the seven artists as influences upon subsequent generations of black artists.

quite through their careers, the exhibition's artists demonstrated a sustained commitment to a distinct vision that had its origins in postwar Paris.

Valerie J Mercer is curator of collections at the Studio Museum in Harlem and curator of "Explorations in the City of Light."

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