PAAL’s main gallery will feature an exhibition of paintings by award-winning artist Philip Muzi Branch. Branch’s initial work in the 1980s was devoted to the abstract expressionist genre of painting. Energetic, color field paintings were created and executed with a highly articulated and psychological use of color. Since 1995, following an in-depth exploration of African American artists, the artist has focused on Neo-African American art. His recent paintings, which will be featured in the exhibition, visually articulate the religious, political and social manners, as well as the customs of African American culture.
“As I strive to contribute to the legacy of African American visual artists, I also address issues surrounding the validity of African American visual art as a genre,” said Branch. “African American visual art has yet to receive the same societal credibility as African American music, African American theater or African American dance,” he added, “yet the visual art of African American culture continues to develop and progress as the soulful creative expression and unique aesthetic of a distinctive people.”
Branch, a Native of Richmond, Virginia, received both his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and his Master of Art Education degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. His paintings have been exhibited at The Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia, PANAFEST, Ghana, West Africa, The Banneker Douglass Museum, Annapolis, Maryland and The Daura Gallery. His work is included in the collections of SunTrust Bank, Richmond Community Hospital, Lynchburg College and First Market Bank.
PAAL’s upstairs gallery will feature an exhibition of recent paintings by S. Ross Browne. The artist describes the works that will be on view as, “comprised of different classically figurative paintings representing personal studies of identity, purism and technical virtuosity all stemming from a desire to understand the enigma in the dichotomy of human compassion and apathy as it relates to race and race relations.”
Both exhibitions will be open from 6 p.m. – 9 p.m., February 11 as part of Friday for the Arts! The exhibitions will remain on view through March 5, 2011, during PAAL’s regular gallery hours of Tuesday through Friday, noon to 6 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m