The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art presents The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South, on view through September 13. The exhibition features works from major public collections as well as rarely seen pictures still in private hands.
The paintings of Carroll Cloar (1913 - 1993), rank among the most haunting and beautiful evocations ever made of the American South. Drawing upon family stories, photographs of ancestors, rural scenery, small town life, and memories of his childhood on an Arkansas farm, Cloar captured the quiet richness of a simpler world.
Cloar's complex style pays homage not only to the great American Realist masters and the pointillism of the Post Impressionists, but blends these elements smoothly with the subtly disturbing images and themes of the Surrealists. His paintings, with their saturated colors, repeating patterns, and shallow picture planes, offer a unique and timeless vision of the American South. Marking the centenary of the artist's birth, the exhibition includes approximately eighty paintings, ranging from early Realist masterpieces to the poignant pictures of his later career.
I spoke to the curator of the exhibit, Stanton Thomas, about the life and work of this truly iconic American artist.
What: The Crossroads of Memory: Carroll Cloar and the American South
Where: The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art
When: On view through September 13, 2013
For more information: (901) 544-6200, or http://brooksmuseum.org
