Datebook: Titus Kapher: History in the Making
Yale-educated painter and inaugural recipient of SAM's Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowshi
By Seattle Mag December 31, 1969
Category: Arts + Events Articles
Yale-educated painter and inaugural recipient of SAM’s Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship raises questions of culture by carefully re-creating historical oil paintings, then deconstructing and reconstructing them in provocative ways
As the inaugural recipient of Seattle Art Museum’s Gwendolyn Knight and Jacob Lawrence Fellowship (awarded biannually to early-career black artists), Titus Kapher is setting a high standard. The Yale-educated painter raises questions of culture by carefully re-creating historical oil paintings, then deconstructing and reconstructing them in provocative ways. Figures are removed from paintings—leaving holes in the canvas—and imported into others. In some paintings, the subjects slide out of the frame and onto the floor. Others are dipped into tar or partially shredded. It’s fascinating, exquisitely rendered work that bodes well for future fellows. Through 8/7, times vary. $9–$15. Seattle Art Museum, 1300 First Ave.; 206.654.3100; seattleartmuseum.org