The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, New Hampshire, is currently hosting “Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey.” The exhibition, which was organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in cooperation with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Estate and New York’s DC Moore Gallery, has been displayed at five venues before going on view at the Currier Museum. After its time in New Hampshire, the show will travel to New York City for presentation at Columbia University.
During the late 1970s, Romare Bearden created a series of collages and watercolors based on Homer’s epic poem, “The Odyssey.” Shortly after its completion, the series was broken up and scattered amongst public and private collections. “A Black Odyssey” presents the complete, 55-piece series in chronological order. Together, the works tell the ancient story of Odysseus’ journey, through the lens of Bearden’s own experience as an African-American.
Bearden, who moved to New York City from North Carolina as a child, was part of the Great Migration of African-Americans from the tumultuous South to greater opportunity in the North. Throughout his career, Bearden explored themes such as home, classical subjects, and belonging, all of which are touched upon in his Odyssey series.
“Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey” will remain on view at the Currier Museum of Art through August 17.
