Exhibition Information:

Through his large and bravura paintings, Tarleton Blackwell explores the rich iconography of the South, incorporating elements of art history, children’s tales, persistent stereotypes and even commercial imagery. The native of Manning, South Carolina populates his visual world with hogs, opossums, wolves, pit bulls, and cats. However, these animals often assume the role of humans, such as a rooster dressed in the garb of a military general or hogs engaged in a wide range of human activities. The artist’s work is not only informed by the fertile regional symbolism of the South but also by seventeenth-century Spanish painting and it’s avowed master Diego Velazquez to whom Blackwell’s art often pays tribute.

The Hog Series:

“Hog Series CLXI: Uncle Opossum IV” 1996

The Hog Series began over twenty-six years ago and has evolved into an ongoing suite of approximately two hundred eighty (280) works on paper and canvas.  This series explores the rich iconography of the rural southeastern United States, incorporating elements of art history, children’s tales, persistent stereotypes and even commercial imagery.  As a native of Manning, South Carolina,

Tarleton Blackwell’s visual world is populated with hog farms, opossums, foxes, roosters, wolves, pit bulls and cats but also with images inspired by his experiences as an art instructor, embalmer/funeral director, and as a devoted fan of the seventeenth century Spanish School of painting.

The essence of The Hog Series is related to the series of works created by Diego Velasquez (1599-1660), depicting the court jesters and dwarves of King Philip IV.  The court painter portrayed the subjects as equals to their master.  He has focused on portraying hogs with the underlying theme of dignity and respect, while at the same time revealing and sharing some of his past personal experiences.

Biography:

Tarleton Blackwell is often cited as being one of the preeminent members of a group of younger African American contemporary artists whose work plays a critical role in the current influx of this genre into the mainstream. He has been the recipient of many awards and honors, including the 1994 Southern Arts Federation/ National Endowment for the Arts Regional Fellowship in Painting. Blackwell has been named an “Outstanding Young Man of America” and an “Outstanding Professional South Carolinian in the Field of Art”. Blackwell’s work has been displayed in over 350 exhibitions and is included in a number of collections including the Mint Museum of Art, Charlotte, N.C.; Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, S.C.; Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ga.; and the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, S.C.