SLAM Presents 'Memory Painting'

St. Louis MO

30 March, 2022

1:49 PM

Description

Press release from the St. Louis Art Museum: March 25, 2022 The self-taught, African American artist Helen LaFrance created vibrant and intimate paintings based on memories of her experiences and surroundings in rural Kentucky, where she lived until her death in 2020 at the age of 101. Her exuberant depictions of daily activities invite comparisons to the work of Grandma Moses, Horace Pippin and other regional painters who drew from their memories to tell stories about past times and places. An upcoming presentation at the Saint Louis Art Museum puts LaFrance's work in conversation with other memory paintings. "Memory Painting: Helen LaFrance and the American Landscape" opens April 1 in the Alison and John Ferring Gallery 212S. The installation opens April 1. The installation includes "Marching Band" and "Church Picnic," two paintings by LaFrance that evoke the artist's memories of summer holidays. Both works were recently purchased by the museum. In "Church Picnic," LaFrance's local church community is gathered for a Memorial Day celebration. In "Marching Band," an interracial band leads an Independence Day parade in a celebration enlivened by red, white and blue flags, bunting, and balloons. These paintings convey LaFrance's innovative interpretations of color and composition. In order to communicate more animated, expressive feelings of remembered places, LaFrance eschewed traditional perspective, instead utilizing flat patterns, blocks of strong color, and abstracted space. This installation focuses on memory painting, placing LaFrance's works in dialogue with American art of the 1930s and 40s, including James Baare Turnbull's 1934 painting "Church Picnic" and John Rogers Cox's 1944 painting "Cloud Trails," as well as contemporary works such as Jacob Lawrence's "Supermarket–Produce" and Katharine Kuharic's "Super Bowl Sunday." All the works in this installation convey individual memories and their emotional significance. As LaFrance described her painting practice in 2010, "It's just a way of reliving it all again." "Memory Painting: Helen LaFrance and the American Landscape" is curated by Hannah Klemm, associate curator of modern and contemporary art; Mellissa Wolfe, curator of American art; Amy Torbert, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of American Art; and Molly Moog, research assistant, modern and contemporary art. This press release was produced by the City of St. Louis. The views expressed here are the author's own.