"Lowcountry Portfolio: Botanical Beauty" by Najee Dorsey and James Denmark

18 x 24 inches, giclee on premium archival paper, edition of 99 (2024) --(unframed)

“In the work I do, I present an American experience through the lens of my African-American perspective,” says Najee Dorsey. In the exhibition Leaving Mississippi – Reflections on Heroes and Folklore, Dorsey’s Mississippi Delta roots emerge as he pays homage to a cast of colorful characters, historic events, and conditions of Southern life while creating commentary about current economic and social conditions in America. The mixed-media works in the exhibition showcase a number of the heroes of the civil rights movements, participants of civil disobedience in the early 20th century, and folklore legends including Dangerfield Newby, Bass Reeves, and Robert Charles. The work combines themes that have interested Dorsey for the past few years: journeys that people embark upon as they search for a better life, and the resistance of those who stay where they are to fight the powers that be. The artist uses a variety of materials, including photographic imagery, ripped paper, paint and found objects. Each composition blends multiple textures, colors, and layers to make the stories tangible for viewers...

Born and raised in the Delta and now a resident of the Columbus area, Dorsey has shown his work in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His work can be found in the collections of:

James Denmark, born in Winter Haven, Florida in 1936, is part of an artistic family. He was exposed to color and form at an early age by his grandmother, a wire sculptor and quilt artist. His grandfather was a bricklayer noted for his unique custom designed molds and his mother was gifted with an intuitive eye for design and detail. This rich beginning is the root of James Denmark's creative expression. Denmark earned his Master of Fine Arts Degree at Pratt Institute of Fine Arts in New York. During this period he was heavily influenced by the abstract expressionists Jackson Pollock, Clifford Still, and William de Kooning. The African-American masters Norman Lewis, Romare Bearden, Jacob Lawrence and Ernest Crichlow instilled in him and appreciation of African American artistic heritage.