We last spoke with the artist Steve Allen about his HBCU initiative. He has donated several million dollars worth of art to the portfolio of HBCUs, including Clark Atlanta University. HBCUs can use this art as collateral for institutional funding. The art will continue to be appreciated over time. Steve Allen is the official artist for the Olympic Games and has created official sports posters from the Bayou Classic to the Penn Relays.
He recently launched a clothing line that features his new work, and a team from Brazil is producing a documentary. Allen has an upcoming exhibition, Ancestral Origins: The Fractal Vison of Steve R. Allen, at the ArtsXchang from February 10th to March 30th, and I will host an artist talk on February 23rd. Steve Allen, welcome back to The Local Take.
I asked Allen for an update on his HBCU Art Initiative, and he shared that he is in the second phase and making a presentation toCheney University (formerly Cheney State).
His upcoming exhibition, Ancestral Origins: The Fractal Vision of Steve R. Allen, reminds me of the Afro-Futuristic movement. I asked him to share the ideas that caused this beautiful collection. He speaks to working on the collection for a few decades and preparing for an exhibition in Brazil in 2023. He mentions that this was the first time he heard the words Afro-Futurism applied to his work.
The work is this exhibition is very detailed, and it sometimes appears that the paintings are made out of tiles that have been put together. I wondered if he started the process of creating with the small pieces or if the large image begged for complexity. Allen talks about the elegance of simplicity. He said our world comprises shapes, triangles, squares, rectangles, circles, and ovals. We all study these shapes in kindergarten and math class. He shares that “fractal” is an ancient concept Africans used.
Join me at the ArtsXchange on February 23rd as I host an artist talk about the exhibition formore information.
For more information on artist Steve Allen
For more information on theArtsXchange