Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance

Stephen Towns, Flora and Lillie, 2023 — ^{Stephen Towns (born 1980), Flora and Lillie, 2022. Acrylic, oil, metal leaf on panel, 48 x 36 inches. Courtesy of Stephen Towns.}

Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance examines the American dream through the lives of Black Americans from the late eighteenth century to the present time. Using labor as a backdrop, Towns highlights the role African Americans have played in building the economy, and explores how their resilience, resistance, and perseverance have challenged the United States to truly embrace the tenets of its Declaration of Independence.

^{Reynolda House Museum of American Art Exterior. Courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.}

Towns has created paintings and story quilts that expand the historical narratives of enslaved and free people who toiled under the most extreme hardships, yet persevered through acts of rebellion, skillful guile, and self-willed determination. Within this arresting body of work, Towns also shows the beauty and love that Black people possess beyond the grips of White supremacy.

The exhibition Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance opens at Reynolda House Museum of American Art on February 18, 2023. Organized and traveled by the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, the exhibition is curated by Kilolo Luckett.

Pictures from the Opening of

“Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance”

^{Stephen Towns orates to a crowd at his opening of Declaration & Resistance. Courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.}

^{Stephen Towns at the opening of Declaration & Resistance. Courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.}

^{Stephen Towns speaks with guests. Courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.}

^{Stephen Towns stands with Sisterhood, 2021, in the background. Courtesy of Reynolda House Museum of American Art.}

Location

Reynolda House Museum of American Art Winston-Salem

Date

February 18, 2023 - May 14, 2023

Artist(s)

Stephen Towns