Curtis Patterson: A Monument Maker Gets His Due
Photograph by David Kaminsky
ART PAPERS
April 27, 2022
Interview by Melissa Messina
Like many working artists of his generation, 77-year-old sculptor Curtis Patterson spent over 30 years dedicated to teaching. During that time, he influenced many artists, including painters Radcliffe Bailey and Fahamu Pecou, and illustrator Thomas Blackshear. He also pursued an illustrious career in public art, with works installed in Atlanta; Dallas; Shreveport, LA; and St. Paul, MN; among other US cities, often dedicated to Civil Rights leaders. Although many of his public works—such as the iconic Ancestral Notions (2000) formerly installed at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport—are well-known and loved, Patterson has carried on his sculpture practice making numerous bodies of smaller-scaled work in bronze and steel largely unrecognized by the broader art community.
On the occasion of Patterson’s first commercial gallery exhibition—his first solo exhibition since Unbroken Connections in 1993 at Nexus (now Atlanta Contemporary)—we feature this conversation between the artist and Melissa Messina, the show’s curator. They discuss his career as a teaching artist, the “invitational” quality of his public projects, and the symbols of the African diaspora in his work.
Curtis Patterson: A Notable Journey opened at Laney Contemporary in Savannah, GA, on April 1, and will run through May 28, 2022. Patterson’s work will also be the subject of a solo exhibition at the Visual Arts Center of Richmond, VA, in November of this year.