ROBERT CARTER, “Growth,” circa 1980 (acrylic, pencil, advertisements, and paper mounted on wood panel, 32 1/2 x 68 inches / 82.5 x 172.7 cm). | © Robert Carter, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
BRINGING TOGETHER the works of two artists engaged with figure composition, “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue” at ACA Galleries explores the human condition through the lens of the African American experience. Born in Chicago, Charles White (1918-1979) was a master draftsman who studied at the Art Institute of Chicago, Art Students League in New York, and with Mexican muralists, including David Alfaro Siqueiros and Diego Rivera, in Mexico City. White’s powerful images focused on social and historical issues and the dignity of Black men and women. He was artistically and politically active in several communities, including New York and Los Angeles, where he lived the last two decades of his life and flourished as an impactful educator.
Lesser known, the practice of Robert Graham Carter (b. 1938) closely relates to White visually and in terms of subject matter. The elder artist greatly influenced Carter, who was moved by White’s publication “Images of Dignity: The Drawings of Charles White” (1967). Born in Louisville, Ky., Carter received a B.S. degree from the University of Louisville, where fellow students included Sam Gilliam, Kenneth Victor Young, and Bob Thompson, and earned an MFA at Pratt Institute. Since the late 1960s, Carter has lived and worked on Long Island, N.Y., where his output has included children’s book illustrations and he taught for 50 years at Nassau Community College. Producing personal and universal images, his works focus on the charms of childhood, strength of family, legacy of Jim Crow segregation, and enduring symbolism of the Black church. The two-artist exhibition presents a survey of 14 works across paintings, drawings, and mixed-media works on wood panel, dating from the 1930s to 2024. CT
“Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue’ is on view at ACA Galleries, 529 West 20th Street, 5th Floor, New York, N.Y., from Feb. 18-April 18, 2025
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Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
CHARLES WHITE, “Mater Dolorosa,” 1946 (oil on canvas, 14 x 12 inches / 35.56 x 30.48 cm). | © Estate of Charles White, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
ROBERT CARTER, “If Der Be Angels Den Some Mus Look Like Me (hands raised),” 2010 (acrylic, pencil, and paper mounted on wood panel, 18 1/2 x 48 inches / 47 x 121.9 cm). | © Robert Carter, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
Installation view of “Robert Carter and Charles White in Dialogue,” ACA Galleries, New York, N.Y. (Feb. 18-April 18, 2025). | © Roman Dean, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY
FIND MORE about Robert Graham Carter on his website
FIND MORE “Robert Graham Carter: The Art of Reflection,” a solo traveling exhibition of the artist is currently on view at the Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, N.Y. (Feb. 2-May 25, 2025). The show is traveling next to the Cressman Center Galleries at the University of Louisville (Aug. 1-Sept. 1, 2025)
BOOKSHELF
“Charles White: A Retrospective” documents a major traveling museum exhibition of the artist. “Charles White: The Gordon Gift to The University of Texas” and “Charles White: A Little Higher” were published on the occasion of recent shows at university museums.
