FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Zenith Gallery Presents: African American Civil War Memorial and Museum Celebrating their 20th Anniversary
Exhibit Dates: July 18 –November 18, 2018
1925 Vermont Ave NW, Washington DC 20001
July 18, 1998 –Twenty years ago, the African-American Civil War Memorial and Museum opened its doors in the historic U Street neighborhood of Washington. From the inception, the Civil War Memorial project had two objectives. One – to correct a great wrong in history, and the second – to contribute to the economic revitalization of the U Street Shaw community. Over these twenty years, they have succeeded in changing the narrative of the Civil War to include messages about the role of the UnSCT in ending slavery and keeping America united under one flag. Today “U” Street NW is a diverse, economically healthy community where people live, worship, have meaningful jobs and work together.
Hubert Jackson and Curtis Woody are featured during the 20th anniversary celebration of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum. Hubert Jackson, a retired DCPS Art Teacher and career artist, will exhibit his “Spirits of the Battleground” series. Each painting refers to a certain battle fought during the Civil War in Virginia. Jackson collects relics, artifacts and other organic material from the specific battle and battleground sites, such as bullets, tree bark, projectiles, and horse shoes. His works evoke “the spirits of those who have come and gone but remain anonymous and unaccounted for through war, slavery, poverty or the passage of time. Although they are no longer physically present, their spirits remain with us as they have become one with nature –embodied within the life forms that emerge from the earth.”
Curtis Woody’s mixed media quilt paintings uses replicas of vintage newspaper advertisements, newspaper articles, found objects, and photographs that are then mounted on museum blocks. The blocks are manipulated spontaneously to create a design with colors, patterns and textures to direct these compositions. The result is a work that strikes the balance between spontaneity and a carefully planned composition of historical relevance. “The beauty of mixed media art is the flexibility it offers to start with things around you and expand from there. As a mixed media painter, I juxtapose these visual elements into a language of moods and reactions that allow for the viewer’s own interpretations.”
Now celebrating 41 years in the nation’s capital, Zenith is recognized for its unique mix of contemporary art in a wide variety of media, style and subject. The gallery provides high-quality acquisition, art consulting, commissioning, appraisal and framing services, through its gallery/salon/ sculpture garden off 16th Street at 1429 Iris St NW, WDC 20012. Zenith also curates rotating exhibits at the Eleven Eleven Sculpture Space at 1111 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20004.