Rooted work
Wednesday, July 1 — Most art, in the end, is the work of someone processing their own story. Their history. Their roots. An attempt to understand and explain the “whys” of their world.
Stories of lineage and legacy run through this week’s Sketchbook.
There’s our profile of sculptor Richard Dial, who crafts metal works out of the same Alabama warehouse where his father, Thornton Dial, made art, and where the sculpture chairs that define his family’s legacy were forged. His solo show “American Idols” just closed at Johnson Lowe Gallery on Miami Circle, but a few of Dial’s anthropomorphic pieces remain on view. The story behind them is worth knowing.
We also connected with Congolese artist Raphael Bahindwa, who has paintings in two Atlanta exhibitions this month. As DR Congo competes at Mercedes-Benz Stadium as part of the World Cup, Bahindwa’s work on Congolese life and futbol culture is particularly germane to the moment — and an opportunity to share his homeland’s stories with a global audience.
Both profiles reveal how prevalent two people are and how they came to show up in the artwork we admire.
Whose story is in the work hanging on your walls?
—Sherri Daye Scott
Forged by family
🪑 When Richard Dial knows a sculpture is finished, it’s because the piece told him so. Inside his decades-long metalworks practice – and the Alabama warehouse he still shares with his late father’s memory – is a story about family and what the Dial name means to American contemporary art.
➡️ Dive into Dial’s story of iron and steel.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
🎨 You’ve seen Amy Sherald’s iconic portrait of Michelle Obama. Now, her largest exhibition to date comes to Atlanta, featuring rarely seen paintings and monumental portraits spanning nearly two decades.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime is now open, bringing one of the leading artists of her generation back to Georgia. Secure your tickets before it’s gone.
Can only make it in the evening? We’ve got you covered. The show stays open after hours every Friday. Grab a drink, snag an exclusive exhibition poster, and explore the galleries at your leisure.
Creating for the home team
⚽ Last week, Congolese painter Raphael Bahindwa watched DR Congo beat Uzbekistan 3-1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. By the time you read this, his home team and England will have faced each other on the pitch – two miles from Bahindwa’s paintings of Congolese futbol life hanging in galleries in downtown Atlanta and off Edgewood Avenue.
➡️ Go behind Bahindwa’s World Cup moment.
Art Happenings
🌞 Solara: Return to the Light: Group Art Show Reception | 4-8 p.m., July 2 | Limelight Gallery.
🖌️ Five Points Fridays: Live Painting by Fangyu Ma | 6-10 p.m., July 3 | Underground Atlanta.
👩🏻🎨 Marietta Artists Guild First Saturday: Art in Action | 12-4 p.m., July 4 | Artisan Resource Center.
🎨 The Legacy Of KAOS Closing Reception | 4 p.m., July 5 | eyedrum Gallery. (pictured)
Post of the Week
📸 Atlanta photographer @phyllis.iller captured painter @willfordjunior and his twins at @sotastudioss in Atlanta ahead of Ford’s debut solo exhibition, “At Second Glance.” The result is exactly what family photography should look like – loose, warm, and alive.
➡️ See the post.
🖋️ Today’s Sketchbook was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
