Point Comfort Art Fair & Show...Uncover...Discover | Miami Art Week

Hampton Art Lovers (HAL) introduces its fourth installment of Point Comfort Art Fair + Show...Uncover the legacy of African America Art...Discover Contemporary Black Fine Artists | Miami Art Week - Art Basel - Soul Basel in Overtown

Point Comfort Art Fair + Show is held at the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery, in Historic Overtown, Miami. The art SHOW is held inside the gallery and the art FAIR behind the gallery in a fully enclosed air controlled tent.

The name “Point Comfort” is derived from the place in colonial Virginia where the first captives from the West African Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola) arrived in late August of 1619. History teaches us that although the people of Ndongo and other African tribes lost their native tongues, many of their traditions continue in the song, dance, arts, rituals and cuisine of today's African American community. "Point Comfort Art Fair + Show" celebrates these remnants, we are thankful for what has survived and we showcase the African-American contributions to American fine art it has produced.

The SHOW: One of our key contributions to Miami Art Week is to showcase historical collections from Black institutions, this year we feature "One Way Ticket: Movement, Migration and Liberty featuring Langston Hughes, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Henry Tanner, Lois Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett" from The Norwood Collection. African-Americans have always attempted to find freedom in foreign lands, whether from the South to the North during the Great Migration, or to Mexico where Elizabeth Catlett fled to in te 1940s to escape the American government. Henry Tanner left Philadelphia in the 1890s to Paris to become the first internationally recognized African-American Artist or Louis Mailou Jones who found a home in France and Haiti and became the first Black female artist to attain international fame. These artists are worthy to be honored as pioneers. Some took a "One Way Ticket" to never return to their birthplaces, we celebrate their boldness to dream and aspire for respect outside of the confines of America.

The FAIR: Purvis Young, Basil Watson, Athlone Clarke, Judy Bowman, Rodney ‘BUCK!’ Herring, Phillip Shung, Benford D. Stellmacher, Jr., Tiffani Glenn, Sunny Gravley, Dennis Manuel & others.

Sponsors: REEF Tech | Southeast Overtown / Parkwest CRA | Art of Black – Greater Miami Visitors & Conventions Bureau | Duke & Dame Whiskey |

HAMPTON Art Lovers

Hampton Art Lovers (HAL) is a collective created to curate the works of legacy and emerging African-American fine artists for people, artists and brands. We create a narrative around the African-American story told through the eyes of the artists that lived it. We operate the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery in Overtown, an architectural gem that preserves the culture of Miami's Black Pioneers.

POINT COMFORT Art Fair & Show

We're not just selling art – The show is a curated, multi-dimensional experience designed to tell the powerful narrative of the African-American experience thorough art. POINT COMFORT is a teachable moment, designed to pique curiosity, share legacies and facilitate the purchase of Black artwork. POINT COMFORT hosts artist talks, collector classes and other panels and discussions throughout Miami Art Week, including a discussion with Bisa Butler, Point Comfort's Official Cultural Ambassador. Bisa's cultural impact may exceed her art someday soon. In her work she is telling the story— The African American side— of this American life. Her use of vintage photos to bring light to untold stories through the medium of quilting is not just art. Butler’s works build on a long tradition, African-American women were needed for spinning, weaving, sewing and quilting on plantations and in other wealthy households in the antebellum south. Bisa's work today is beyond art, and we're honored that she is our cultural ambassador. Point Comfort's space include a bar and lounge/conversation area to host our Indaba conversations about art, collecting, art activism and more. Not only do we have our traditional two story space, we also build for Point Comfort an 80x40 feet tent with walls inside of our enclosed outdoor property.

Point Comfort Art Fair + Show 2021 | GENERAL SCHEDULE

• Thurs | Dec 02 | 11:00AM – 7:00PM
• Fri | Dec 03 | 11:00AM – 7:00PM
• Sat | Dec 04 | 11:00AM – 7:00PM
• Sun | Dec 05 | 11:00AM – 7:00PM
  

SPECIAL EVENTS SCHEDULE

Wed | Dec 01 | 4:00PM – 8:00PM

VIP | Vernissage (Invite Only) Press Preview

Thu | Dec 2 | 7:00pm – 10:00pm

VIP | Opening Reception for Point Comfort Art Fair & Show | Hosted by Gwen S. Cherry, Pi Delta Omega (PDO) Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc | Sponsored by City of Miami SE Overtown Park West CRA, Duke & Dame Whiskey and REEF Tech

Fri | Dec 3 | 5:00pm – 7:00pm

Indaba Art Conversations | “Libraries as Arts and Culture Incubators for Underrepresented Artists” | with Makiba Foster (Manager of the African-American Research Library and Research Center) & Tammi Lawson (Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture) and Anthony “Mojo” Reed (Artist) | Sponsored by Community Foundation of Broward, AARLRC, Former State Senator Dwight Bullard and Florida Rising

Sat | Dec 4 | 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Indaba Art Conversations | Writing on the Walls: Arts & Letters for Criminal Justice Reform | featuring artist Hank Willis Thomas and Dr. Baz Dreisinger | Moderated by Christopher Norwood, Hampton Art Lovers and Editorial Board of International Review of African American Art | Hosted by Exchange for Change

Sat | Dec 4 | 6:00pm – 8:00pm

Indaba Art Conversations | "Howard University : Women & Arts Tradition: Alma Thomas, Lois Mailou Jones, Mildred Thompson to Bisa Butler with Love!”| with Bisa Butler (Artist) and Dr. Rebecca Vandiver (Vanderbilt University), moderated by Dr. Rebecca Friedman (FIU - Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab)| Hosted by Howard University Alumni of South Florida & FIU–Wolfsonian Public Humanities Lab

Sat | Dec 4 | 9:00pm

Indaba After Party (Rare Grooves) | Hosted artist Bisa Butler (Point Comfort's Official Cultural Ambassador)

Sun | Dec 5 | 7:00pm

The Gathering : Reception Celebrating the State of Black Art | Presented by Hampton Art Lovers and Pigment Magazine | “The Importance of Public Art in Black Space” | Featuring artist Gerald Griffin, moderated by Christopher Norwood, Editorial Board – International Review of African-American Art | Sponsored by Wells Fargo

DAILY | Dec 2 – 5 |12:00pm - 7:00pm and during Special Events

| Indaba Lounge Presented Duke & Dame Whiskey | Duke & Dame has been recognized by esteemed industry experts and discerning consumers as one of the best flavored whiskeys on earth. The vision was to redefine the whiskey drinking experience by creating a premium flavored whiskey that would stimulate the senses at each stage of the drinking process, with incredible aroma, remarkable taste, and an extremely smooth finish. Out of this vision, the award-winning Duke & Dame Salted Caramel Flavored Whiskey was born.

Point Comfort's 2021 Exhibition Statement

Legacy SHOWCASE | "One Way Ticket: Movement, Migration and Liberty featuring Langston Hughes, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White, Henry Tanner, Lois Mailou Jones and Elizabeth Catlett" | Selections from The Norwood Collection.

African-Americans have always attempted to find freedom in foreign lands, whether from the South to the North during the Great Migration, or to Mexico where Elizabeth Catlett fled to in te 1940s to escape the American government. Henry Tanner left Philadelphia in the 1890s to Paris to become the first internationally recognized African-American Artist or Louis Mailou Jones who found a home in France and Haiti and became the first Black female artist to attain international fame. These artists are worthy to be honored as pioneers. Some took a "One Way Ticket" to never return to their birthplaces, we celebrate their boldness to dream and aspire for respect outside of the confines of America. | Curated by Hampton Art Lovers from the Clark Atlanta Art Museum | Featured in the Historic Ward Rooming House Gallery

Contemporary Artists FAIR| Featuring Athlone Clarke, Ernie Barnes, Basil Watson, Purvis Young, Rodney "Buck" Herring, Benford Stellmacher, Phillip Shung, Judy Bowman, and others | Featured in the Point Comfort Tent

Athlone Clarke was born in Jamaica in 1956. He immigrated to the United States in 1985, and as with most immigrants, almost everything that had been familiar to him in the past, ended up being stripped away in order to make room for the new reality. This provided an opportunity to reinvent himself, while tapping into the other basics of day to day survival. The one thing that had remained constant from his childhood was the desire to paint. During these early years, and in between odd jobs, he rediscovered his brushes, and began on a much deeper immersion in the arts, a sort of baptism by fire. Over time he began to realize that for him to go from being a hobbyist to being a professional artist, he would have to embrace the very frightening prospect of living totally and completely on his creative ideas and effort. As he states, "I kinda had to learn to walk my talk". Having developed an interest in the Japanese folklore of tsukumogami he began to see objects around him with a different eye. He believes that objects have both memory, and energy. The ability to tap into both is crucial to his expression. His mixed media work often includes whatever material is available to him at the time. While in the creative process, he sees each object as having their own unique story, and perceives his role as a kind of choir conductor who brings all the different voices into one melody. Clarke believes with great conviction that there is no "have to" in art. "Spontaneity and experimentation across the different mediums is where it’s at for me, even while I accept that in some cases, spontaneity may require practice. To follow any kind of script would be a slow, torturous death for me. When I’m done working on a piece, I like the surprise of finally being able to step back, and it feels like I’m seeing it for the first time. So creative freedom is everything to me, and because of that, I absolutely refuse to participate in the building of any kind of Pr*son in my creative space." He considers himself as embodying the belief that honest art will always attract an audience who is both willing and capable of looking beyond just decorative appeal. Clarke’s work is collected both nationally and internationally. Asked what is the greatest lesson he has taken away from all his years as a working artist. His answer is surprisingly simple, "Art saves lives".

Basil Watson believes in the idea of the “figure” and has been his interest, inspiration and focus, which he continued to study through a strong foundation in drawing. He found sculpture as he sought to explore a more plastic vehicle of communication. The energy, vigor and emotive quality of the human figure intrigues me and this has sustained and anchored in his work. Through the exploration of the language of the body, he's been able to capture exaggerated movement, subtle gesture, and the expression of emotions and attitudes to thus encapsulate and portray varying aspects of the human condition. Striving for mastery of technique and a deep understanding of anatomy, his struggle is not just to make the figure life-like but to also capture the energy, motivation and spirit that are reflected in every aspect of the subject. With an ability gained over decades of dedication to observation and expression, he is able to see what lays on the surface along with how it is shaped from within and what is the driving force and essence underneath. Modeling, his favored method, allows him to incorporate the energy of the process which can vary according to concept and attention to detail. There are times when the attention is to the big picture with concern only for the essence and energy of the figure. At other times, there is more attention to detail which might be essential to the concept. At all times however, the process feels natural as the sculpture evolves out of a close observation of nature. He is inspired by the heroic in mankind, and am moved to express the vitality, beauty, grace and strength of the human figure in its varied shapes, sizes, abilities and functions. The spirit that motivates it is limitless in its grandeur. Recently Basil was commissioned by the City of Atlanta to produce “Hope Moving Forward” an 18 foot statute of Martin Luther King, and the Government of England for a 16 foot sculpture depicting the Windrush generation for Waterloo Station in London.

Purvis Young (1943-2010) in the community (Overtown) that birthed his genius. Young is the most renowned visual artist from South Florida, but his work is grounded in the experiences of an African-American man seeking Freedom in his "Promised Land" of Historic Overtown. Purvis was a visual folklorist, and an outsider to the art world. He was prolific and criticized for painting too much. In his own words: "they don't say that birds fly too much, Shakespeare wrote too much or opera singers sing too much - But it don't bother me". His art is realized on found and often distressed abandoned objects of doors, pieces of cardboard and wood. Young’s works are populated by a recurring set of motifs that includes angels and ancestors, refugees and prisoners, pregnant women and protesters, soldiers and workers, construction sites, trucks, horses; all drawn from his immediate environment and from the aspirations and histories of those around him. Purvis depicted a visual story of the Overtown neighborhood, illustrating a range of issues from injustice to immigration, and every day situations. Purvis provides a visual guided tour of Overtown: the children, young people, hardworking parents; the hustlers, the saints, the police; the violence and humor. Through his body of work, Purvis Young built an expressive record and a political commentary on life in Overtown, his Promised Land. Purvis was often seen, riding his bike through Overtown even after his art career began to blossom.

Ernie Barnes (1938 – 2009) was a leading 20th century artist well-known for his unique style of movement, Ernie Barnes is the first American professional athlete to become a noted painter.  In pop culture Barnes’ paintings appear on music album covers, television and movies, especially his iconic dance hall scene, The Sugar Shack. Ernest Eugene Barnes, Jr. was born Friday morning, July 15, 1938 in Durham, North Carolina during the Jim Crow era. He lived with his parents and younger brother in what was then-called “The Bottom,” a community near the Hayti District of the city. His father, Ernest E. Barnes, Sr. (1899 – 1966) worked as a shipping clerk for Liggett Myers Tobacco Company in Durham. His mother, Fannie Mae Geer (1905 – 2004) oversaw the household staff for a prominent Durham attorney and Board of Education member, Frank L. Fuller, Jr. On days when Fannie allowed “June” (Barnes’ nickname to family and childhood friends) to accompany her to work, Mr. Fuller encouraged him to peruse art books and listen to classical music. By the time Barnes entered the first grade, he was familiar with the works of such masters as Toulouse-Lautrec, Delacroix, Rubens, and Michelangelo. When he entered junior high, he could appreciate, as well as decode, many of the cherished masterpieces within the walls of mainstream museums – although it would be many more years before he was allowed entrance because of segregation. A self-described chubby and nonathletic child, Barnes was taunted and bullied by classmates. He continually sought refuge in his sketchbooks, finding the less-traveled parts of campus away from the other students. One day Ernest was drawing in his notebook in a quiet area of the school. He was discovered hiding there by the masonry teacher Tommy Tucker, who was also the weightlifting coach and a former athlete. Tucker was intrigued with Barnes’ drawings so he asked the aspiring artist about his grades and goals.  Tucker shared his own experience of how bodybuilding improved his strength and outlook on life. That encounter would begin Barnes’ discipline and dedication that would permeate his life. By his senior year at Hillside High School, Barnes became the captain of the football team and state champion in the shot put.

Judy Bowman is a mixed-media collage artist who was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Her art practice centers on exalting America’s Black culture. Bowman’s use of vibrant hues, textured paper and acrylic paint illuminates’ narratives that move beyond institutional racism and disparaged perspectives of the Black experience–a view in which America too often limits the full picture. Considering herself a visual griot, she sees her job to tell stories that are reflective of her coming-of-age in Detroit’s Eastside and Black Bottom neighborhoods. Scenes in her vibrant collages depict love, community and a type of fellowship that resides in jazzy nights, the sway of young Black women and the swag of young Black men, church on Sundays followed by family dinner, family outings and cultural dignity and richness. Bowman’s work appears in private and public collections–nationally and internationally–including Institutional Collections of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, Sarasota, Florida; The Free Press building, Detroit, Michigan; R.W. Norton Art Gallery/ Museum, Shreveport, Louisiana; Georgetown University Library, Booth Family For Special Collections, Washington DC, US Department of State, Art Bank Program, Washington, DC; and the Flint Institute of Arts, Flint, Michigan. After Bowman retired as principal of Detroit Academy of Arts and Science in 2008, she rebooted her career as an artist. She lives in Romulus, MI and works throughout Metro Detroit.

Rodney “Buck” Herring is a Cultural crusader through visual arts, BUCK! is a multifaceted creative with work reflecting humanity’s motivating forces, while creating dialogue for its viewers. Raised in Baltimore, Rodney Herring (aka BUCK!) thrived at Hampton University majoring in art. Soon after landing in DC, he found his artistic home. BUCK! utilizes passages of text and varied typography layered with boldly silhouetted or highly contrasted figures to explore the various layers of the human experience.

Benford D. Stellmacher, Jr. born a native of Hartford, Ct. moved to Virginia in 1992 to attend Hampton University where he received his Bachelors of Architecture. In January 2010, Ben made a quality decision to explore another facet of his creative side and returned to Tidewater Community College to acquire an A.A.S in Graphic Design with an emphasis in Advertising Layout. Intrigued with design, Ben later acquired his M.S. in User Experience Design. Benford is committed to having conversations through canvas to inspire, influence and impact the hearts of all those that view his work. "It is not that we should experience the world, but rather it is the world should experience the greatness of who we are through the gift that God has given us"

Phillip Shung highlights the beauty in everyday life through his portraiture and street photography. Whether in his hometown of Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, or Dakar, Senegal, Shung brings into focus the nuances of the African Diaspora wherever they are. His approach is interdisciplinary — blending the best practices in photography, art, creative direction, design, and interactive development. Phil Shung found his passion for photography, working as an art director with world-renowned photographers for the past 20 years. He has since honed his style of portraiture through his world travel and interest in capturing real people across the globe.

“One way to describe my photography is intimate,” says Shung. “I aspire to highlight the humanity in my subjects.” When Shung travels, he is in search of locals dwellings to provide an intimate perspective of his subjects and their environment.

Since 2011, Phillip Shung has been a partner at Pixod Design Studio as well as a founding member of The Bklyn Combine, a non-profit community organization dedicated to mentorship and providing critical education, leadership, and social support to youth and young adults in low-income and under served communities.

POINT COMFORT 2021 Host & Cultural Ambassador : Newark artist Bisa Butler is using her “portrait quilts” to tell a new story. Butler is a former art teacher who is now being hailed as a modern day griot. Inspired by the dressmaking of her mother and grandmother, Butler began creating quilt art. Her vividly detailed portraits, all stitched with fabric, re-imagine the lives of the real life subjects they portray.

The artist sources her material from real life photos, telling stories of those who have been forgotten or re-imagining historical figures. The sepia toned picture of Harriet Tubman that she transformed into a beautiful portrait quilt, currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. “When I find photos online or in the databases of Black people who are unnamed and unknown, I feel like I owe it to them to try to sort of ascertain what was their identity,” Butler said.

She has shown her work locally, curating beautiful pieces like the cover art for “Me Too” activist Tarana J. Burke’s new book Unbound, and getting pieces acquired at a few museums. Now, the Howard University alumna has reached a huge milestone in her career. Recently, she showcased her first solo exhibit at a major museum, The Art Institute of Chicago.

“Seeing my artwork at home and in my studio was one thing, but seeing it in this location is just completely mind blowing...When I first started making quilts, they were not considered fine art, they were considered craft...I think that historically quilt-work, craft work, has been marginalized because it was the work of women, and it was the work of people of color. It was considered like domestic labor,”

She is now taking the opportunity to not only celebrate the craft but also the beauty of the Black lives they depict. Her life sized portraits are surreal, with Butler believing that each holds emotion because of the meticulousness of the process and the emotion she evokes into it. For those who view her work, Butler said there is a bit of an exchange between the portrait and the viewer : “I love the idea that the images that I’m making are looking back out at me. So there’s like an intimacy there and it's a confrontation too. I like the idea that there’s this dialogue between the subjects and the observers...I use the color as a way to communicate. If I think that somebody seemed to be more cool, more somber, I might use shades of blues and purples. If somebody appears to be a leader or appears to be more forceful, I’m going to use more intense color,”

She currently works out of her home dining room in New Jersey, joking that the kitchen is the only place in her house that her family has full reign of. Her pieces take about six weeks on average to craft, her largest piece, “The Warmth Of Other Suns,” currently on display at the Newark Museum of Art, taking Butler a staggering seven months to finish. The quilt is 9 ft high and 12 ft wide, telling the story of Black families who migrated north from the south in search of better lives. Butler calls the quilt her baby and talks about how in her attempt to tell the story through her art, she also attempts to take care of her subjects.

“If you look at the original, he doesn’t have shoes, People wanted to travel in their very best so if he didn’t have shoes. it’s because they couldn’t afford them and that’s something that I like to give back,” Butler added.

Her work seeks to not only tell the story of who the people were, but also who they may have wanted to be. “I want people to be able to look at my work and see the humanity in it and... for people who are not Black to understand that we are all human beings and we have the same wants and desires, loves and fears. And for Black people I want them to see themselves and realize that I recognize who you are and we are the same,” Butler

Miami Art Week | Art Basel | Soul Basel

What started in Miami Beach back in 2002, has grown into quite a unique event spawning many other satellite fairs, outdoor exhibitions, fashion shows, concerts, private events, parties and grand openings, to what has now become the Miami Art Week. With most of the fairs concentrated in the Wynwood, Design District and Downtown areas, making Historic Overtown the geographical centerpiece.

Black Art is largely seen, within white spaces during Art Basel. Despite the increasing attention being paid to Black artists — many of whom have been snatched up by mega dealers and seen the prices for their work surge at auction — the number of Black-owned galleries representing artists in the United States remains strikingly, stubbornly low. There is only one African-American gallerist in the 176-member Art Dealers Association of America, a professional group. This is the purpose and mission for Point Comfort Art Fair & Show during Art Basel / Miami Art Week.

2018 was a watershed year in the market for work by Black artists across the auction market. Per a report released by Artnet, a whopping 25% of the total spend on work by Black artists at auction from 2008 to 2018 was spent in the first six months of 2018, perhaps most notably by rapper and music producer Sean Combs, who paid $21.1 million for Kerry James Marshall’s painting “Past Times” (1997), quadrupling the artist’s record and setting the auction record for a work by a living Black artist. The market was top-heavy, centered around Jean-Michel Basquiat — who accounted for a mind-boggling 77% of the sales of work by African American artists over the decade — and a handful of contemporary giants: Mark Bradford, David Hammons, Glenn Ligon, Kerry James Marshall, and Julie Mehretu.

The market for work by modern and contemporary Black artists has continued to grow, both in the prices reached and in the number of artists included. The modern and contemporary markets function differently, with the highest prices — and the most predatory speculation — concentrated in the latter. The boom of interest in African American art has been buoyed by a number of factors, including but certainly not limited to: the work of Souls Grown Deep Foundation, a non-profit founded in 2010 to promote work by Black artists from the American South, and the success of an internationally acclaimed survey show, The Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power 1963-1983, which debuted at Tate in 2017 and went on display at five museums across the United States. Also significant for spreading cultural awareness about the African American art market was the platform that the Obamas gave to Black artists both in their collecting practices and in commissioning Amy Sherald and Kehinde Wiley for their official portraits.

For these reasons Soul Basel and Art of Black were created. Hampton Art Lovers is a proud partner of Soul Basel and Art of Black. Soul Basel was formed to ensure that Black Art and Culture has a place and a home in Miami during Art Basel/Miami Art Week. Soul Basel is centered in Overtown, sometimes known as the “Harlem of Miami”. Soul Basel is sponsored and supported by the City of Miami Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency (SEOPWCRA) and the Art of Black - Greater Miami Visitors & Conventions Bureau (GMCVB). Art of Black Miami is an ongoing initiative calling attention to the impacts and achievements of Black artists from across the African and Caribbean diasporas at locations across the city. The program was developed by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitor Bureau’s Multicultural Travel & Tourism division.

Host or Publisher Hampton Art Lovers