Special Events: Tues, Feb. 12, 2002, 2:30 pm Music Building Recital Hall Opening Lecture: "Climbing Up the Mountain: The Modern Art of Malvin Gray Johnson" by Kenneth G. Rodgers Tues, Feb. 19, 2002, 2:30 pm Music Building Recital Hall "Malvin Gray Johnson and His Circle: A Comparative Analysis of Harlem Renaissance Painting Styles" by Dr. Melvin Carver, NCCU Art Department chair Wed, Mar 5, 2002, 7 pm Art Museum University Evening with Director Kenneth Rodgers and Timothy Holley Mon, Apr. 1, 2002, 2 pm Biomedical Biotechnology Research Auditorium Symposium: Malvin Gray Johnson and the Harlem Renaissance in Context

2002 Climbing Up the Mountain: The Modern Art of Malvin Gray Johnson February 10-April 19, 2002 Opening Reception: Sunday, February 10, 2002, 2 to 4 p.m. North Carolina Central University Art Museum will present Climbing Up the Mountain: The Modern Art of Malvin Gray Johnson, February 10-April 19, 2002. This is the first retrospective exhibition devoted to the work of the Greensboro native and Harlem Renaissance master since his death in 1934. Included in this exclusive collection are more than 50 of the known 60 works that exist, spanning from watercolors, drawing, oil painting and much more. Unique to the presentation of Climbing Up the Mountain are the recently discovered works Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, and Roll, Jordan, Roll. Shown together in a museum setting for the first time, Johnson's paintings on Negro spirituals were considered his greatest paintings by some of his contemporaries. Today they are recognized as benchmarks in his career and present technically provocative design relationships that hint at the modernism to come in later works. The exhibition features five recently discovered works produced in Greensboro during his formative years. An untitled seascape believed to be his earliest work from ca. 1905 will be included. Untitled (Oriental Scene) of 1911, Untitled (Pocahontas) of 1912, and Cowboy With Horse of 1912 are being conserved by Regional Conservation Services of the North Carolina Museum of Art. The only surviving work from his student days at the National Academy of Design, a pen and ink drawing titled Study of a Head of 1920, will also be shown. back to top The exhibition also shows that Johnson's increasing focus on complex technical concerns did not overshadow his concern with providing a glimpse of the day-to-day lives of the men and women of Harlem through brilliant portraits. The astonishing recently discovered portrait Meditation, until now only reproduced in black and white, makes its first museum appearance. Postman, Negro Soldier, Sailor, Ermia, and Millie are additional portraits that will be included in the exhibition. The cityscapes Come Up Sometime, Pulley Lines, and Tenements will provide another exciting facet of Johnson's work. The exhibition documents for the first time the final year of Malvin Gray Johnson' life beginning with employment on the Public Works of Art Project (P.W.A.P). He produced fifteen watercolors and sixteen oil paintings in a modern-folk style that culminated his stylistic development. Over two-thirds of the work produced during this explosive period is in the exhibition. Thinning Corn, Uncle Louis, First Sunday With Dinner on the Ground and Convict Labor are a few of the oils included. Among the watercolors Platform Dance, Pigs, Corn Field, and Cow and Calf will provide a rare opportunity to examine his compelling draftsmanship and handling of this exacting medium. back to top Publication The publication Climbing Up the Mountain: The Modern Art of Malvin Gray Johnson by North Carolina Central University Art Museum Director Kenneth G. Rodgers, with essays by Jacquelyn Francis and Perry Hurt, accompanies the exhibition. Sponsorship The exhibition has been made possible by grants from the North Carolina Arts Council, The National Endowment for the Arts, and the Rockefeller Foundation. Educational Programs A series of public programs accompanying Climbing Up the Mountain: The Modern Art of Malvin Gray Johnson include a panel discussion with contemporary African American Art historians, a scholarly lecture by Malvin Gray Johnson scholar and University of Michigan professor Jacquelyn Francis, a series of lectures at venues, statewide, conducted by art historian Shawnya Harris and family programs. Contact the museum for further details. Admission for the exhibition is free. NCCU Art Museum is located on Lawson St. across from the Farrison-Newton Communications Building. For general information call (919) 560-6211. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Group visits may be arranged by calling Tuesday - Friday from 10 A.M. to 4 P.M., or by leaving a message at other times. back to top