Powerful Political Themes Present in Paintings, Found Objects and Sculptures

Renee Stout, considered a rising star in the firmament of contemporary American artists, will show her work in a solo exhibition “Readers, Advisors and Storefront Churches” at the DePaul University Art Museum, 2350 N. Kenmore Ave., in April. The exhibition opens April 4 with a reception from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., which the artist will attend. It runs through May 18.

“Readers, Advisors and Storefront Churches” is an intriguing mixed-media collection that explores Stout’s own experiences and her cultural heritage. Her skillful entwining of the personal, religious and political is both subtle and accessible. The exhibition catalogue notes: “For the viewer, her work allows a dialogue and an understanding of a part of our culture and history that has long been neglected and buried under racial prejudice.” Stout explains that she tries to create “art that helps me put together what are only fragments, to try to create a whole, so that I can gain a better understanding of my own existence. In doing this, it is my hope that others, no matter where they come from, will realize some answers to their own existence.”

“Renee Stout’s work is intricate, inventive, smart, mysterious, powerful and empowering. It’s both highly personal and very political,” explained Louise Lincoln, director of the DePaul Art Museum.

Stout spent her formative years in Pittsburgh, where an artistic father and grandfather helped to nurture her desire to become an artist. She received a B.F.A degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 1980 and began her career as a realist painter, influenced by Edward Hopper’s moody representations of the familiar. Her work took a dramatic change in 1985 when she moved to Washington, D.C.

Social issues, such as violence and poverty, were brought to the forefront as the developing artist became more aware of her urban environment. She addressed issues of gang conflict, gun proliferation, the drug trade and homelessness in her work. Stout also began to incorporate found objects and materials often scavenged from alleys and dumpsters into her work: beads, glass, wire, hair, wood and old photographs, suggesting multiple layers of African American culture and history.

Raised a Christian and influenced both by Catholicism and the Baptist faith through devoutly religious grandmothers, Stout has drawn on diverse religious experiences – using both Christian and African iconography in her work. She incorporates aspects of Haitian voudou as well, including protective writings, roots, oils and music. The one-woman exhibition will feature 30 paintings and installations, including “Carpetbagger Politician Goes for Free Ride on Homeless Woman,” which confronts what Stout perceives as lawmakers’ unwillingness to adequately address social problems.

In addition to attending the opening reception, Stout will give a lecture about her work at 3 p.m. April 4 in Room 120 of the DePaul Student Center, 2250 N. Sheffield. The opening reception and hour-long lecture are free and open to the public. The DePaul Art Museum hours are: Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. For more information about this exhibition and related programs, call 773/325-7506 or visit the museum’s Web site at http://museums.depaul.edu/artwebsite/.

Editors’ Note: Electronic images of Stout’s work are available upon request.