Evolution Exhibit Premiers New Driskell Center at Maryland

WHAT:

	Distinguished University Professor Emeritus David C. Driskell

The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora presents the inaugural exhibition in its new space: Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David C. Driskell, a Distinguished University of Maryland Professor Emeritus of Art.

WHEN:

Wednesday, October 17, 2007 through March 14, 2008. The opening public reception was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2007.

Gallery Hours:
Mon. - Fri.: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Wed.: 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Admission: Free

WHERE:

1214 Cole Student Activities Building

The New Driskell Center Takes Shape in Cole Field House.
Click on each picture for a slideshow.

BACKGROUND:

Evolution: Five Decades of Printmaking by David C. Driskell is the first retrospective exhibition dedicated to the prints of renowned artist David C. Driskell. Curated by the David C. Driskell Center's Curator-in-Residence, Adrienne L. Childs (a graduate of the Department of Art History and Archeology at the University of Maryland), this exhibition provides insight into Driskell's artistic processes and development. David C. Driskell has been an active printmaker since the 1950's. Working in a variety of printmaking media, he has engaged diverse themes such as biblical stories, self-portraiture and still life in both figurative and abstract modes. For Driskell, printmaking has been an integral part of his total creative practice that also includes painting, collage, photography, and sculpture. Earlier this year, he was elected as a national academia by the National Academy for his work.

Evolution is the inaugural exhibition of the David C. Driskell Center at its new home in the Cole Student Activities Building (aka Cole Field House), located in the heart of the University of Maryland campus and adjacent to the Adele Stamp Student Union. The exhibition includes more than seventy-five prints by Prof. Driskell as well as several works on paper which will provide insight into his artistic process and development. In addition, the exhibition will include several woodblocks used to produce the prints.

Spirits Watching by David C. Driskell (Tuliza Fleming collection) Click to see more prints.

	Read "A Conversation With..." Dr. David C. Driskell
	Read "A Conversation With..." Driskell Center Director Dr. Robert Steele
	Hear University President Dr. C.D. "Dan" Mote, Jr. Talk About the Driskell Center Opening

In conjunction with the Evolution exhibition, the David C. Driskell Center developed an Arts and Education Program for High Schools in nearby Prince George's and Montgomery Counties. Using David C. Driskell's prints as an aesthetic and thematic inspiration, the participating high schools and the Driskell Center introduced a program to engage high school students in the field of the Visual Arts of African Americans. In keeping with Prof. Driskell's example of mentoring young artists and historians for the past 40 years, this program aims to validate creativity in students and encourage the development of their artistry.

Some of the prints produced by students involved in the Driskell Center's Arts and Education Program (Eleanor Roosevelt and Northwestern High Schools)

The works presented in the Evolution exhibit were selected by the David C. Driskell Center team and represent students' works from Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Northwestern High School, and Suitland High School in Prince George's County, and Northwood High School in Montgomery County.

Accompanying the exhibition is a fully-illustrated, 120-page, scholarly catalogue published by Pomegranate Communications Inc. The exhibition is supported, in part, by the University of Maryland 's Office of the President and the Maryland State Arts Council.

Media coverage is welcome. Parking is available in the Union Lane Garage adjacent to Cole Field House or at meters on the street.

For more information, contact Driskell Center Deputy Director Dorit Yaron at 301-405-6835 or Senior Media Relations Associate Dave Ottalini at 301-405-4076. There's also more information online at http://www.driskellcenter.umd.edu/exhibitions/index.php.

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