Alteronce Gumby, Seed of the Soul, 2020, Tempered glass & acrylic on wood, 54 x 70 inches
Once a week, as part of the Kossak Painting Program—a fellowship at Hunter College composed of 10 or 12 painting students—Alteronce Gumby would bring a painting or two to class to be critiqued by renowned visiting artists such as Rashid Johnson and Katherine Bernhardt.
“Everybody wanted to hang their work on the best wall for the best sunlight,” the 2013 Hunter graduate reminisces. “People would get there early, set up for class, and you were put on the spot.” The New York-based artist appreciated the challenge; more importantly, he was grateful for the opportunity to contextualize his work. He subsequently enrolled in Yale University’s Master of Fine Arts program, in large part to “keep that fire burning.” Four years and counting since Gumby earned his MFA, there’s no question that the artist has done just that.
Geometric, colorful and above all else, abstract—Gumby’s work explores the very essence of Blackness. He links this to Paris; in April 2017, the artist held a solo show at the Fondation des Etats-Unis titled “Black(ness) is Beautiful” and composed of a series of abstract paintings examining what is means to be Black through the use of color. “That really ties into what I believe to be a cornerstone of my work,” states the artist, “which is constructing these ideas about colorism and stereotypes involving race and identity politics.” The aim was—and is to this day—to redefine what color means, placing rich hues on the canvas to challenge the mind, the eye and ultimately the imagination.