Curtis Patterson: ‘One of the most important sculptors of our time’
Say it Loud, 2011, Rocker Series, fabricated bronze, hot patina, 36 x 30 x 18 in.
CONNECT SAVANNAH
March 30, 2022
By Beth Logan
“A Notable Journey,” a solo exhibit by African American sculptor Curtis Patterson, opens this Friday, April 1, at Savannah’s Laney Contemporary.
Curated by Patterson’s former student Melissa Messina, it promises to be an important show, paying past-due homage to an Atlanta-based artist unfamiliar to too many of us.
Savannahians may remember Messina from her 2008-16 stint as interim Executive Director and Senior Curator at the SCAD Museum of Art.
Today, she is a nationally recognized arts professional and speaker who develops exhibitions and public programming both independently and in leadership roles with museums and non-profit arts organizations.
Much of her stellar career, she tells me, is focused on “prioritizing fantastic artists whose work demands deeper exploration but who have not been given their due because they are female, or a racial minority, or work outside of the market centers, or all three.”