- Pheoris West
Pheoris West is an
African American artist. He has been anassociate professor at theOhio State University College of the Arts since 1976.He studied at the
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts , and earned a Masters of Fine Arts fromYale University . His areas of expertise are painting and drawing,computer graphics , and design. His art has been shown in various art displays since 1970. Examples of his work are held in the collections of thePhiladelphia Museum of Art , theMuseum of Fine Arts, Boston , theStudio Museum in Harlem , New York, the Museo Civico D’arts Contemporaneo Di Gibilina,Palermo , Italy, and theContemporary Arts Center , Cincinnati. He took part in the national touring exhibition “To Conserve a Legacy: American Art from Historically Black Colleges and Universities.” He was acurator for the 1999 "HOMAGE TO JAZZ" at theMartin Luther King Center inColumbus, Ohio . He has also served on the National Endowment of the Arts Expansion Arts Panel, the International Juror National Exhibition ofZimbabwe , and theOhio Arts Council .West considers himself an
Afrocentric artist. He does not align with modern or post-modern artists. He prefers to integrate the importance of a strong moral society with cultural traditions. Africa is the source for classical art traditions and African and American cultures inspire his imagery. He symbolizes a universal message through the use of traditional tales, mythologies and religion. His most common subject is the black woman. He considers her a symbol forMother Earth , for the cradle of humanity. She represents the theorized oldest evidence of humanity recently found inEthiopia . In his work “The Garden” he paintsEve as an enchanting black woman. The painting creates a spiritual energy from the layers of imagery and the balance of color and form.External links
* [http://arts.osu.edu/2faculty/a_faculty_profiles/art_fac_profiles/west_pheoris.html OSU Faculty]
* [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1546/is_4_14/ai_55450289 Visions from African American Artists]
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