Najee Dorsey: Southern Crossroads Catalogue

Museum of Art - DeLand, Florida

Board of Trustees (2021-2022)

Dagny Robertson, President

Solomon Greene, Vice President

Dr. John Wilton, Secretary

Mary Jeanne Ludwig, Treasurer

Judy Thompson, Past President

Karen Allebach

Dennis Aylward

Samuel Blatt

George S. Bolge

Jean Burns

Kelly Canova

John Clifford

Sal Cristofano

Vernette Conrad

Greg Dasher

Manny De La Vega

Linda Colvard Dorian

Barbara Girtman

NAJEE DORSEY: Southern Crossroads

October 7 – December 23, 2022

Printing E.O. Painter Printing Co., DeLeon Springs, Florida

Kyle Glass

Joan Lee

Lisa Ogram

Todd Phillips

Glenna Roof

Dr. Ian Williams

ADMINISTRATION

Pattie S. Pardee, Executive Director

Dorothy Dansberger, Director of Finance and Operations

Darlene Shelton, Manager of Guest Services

Teri Peaden, Museum Store Manager

CURATORIAL

Tariq Gibran, Curator of Art and Exhibitions

Martha Underinner, Curator of Education

Pam Coffman, Education Consultant

MARKETING

Stephanie Kelly Clark, Consultant

Museum of Art – DeLand, 600 North Woodland Boulevard, DeLand, Florida, 32720

Museum of Art – DeLand Downtown, 100 North Woodland Boulevard, DeLand, Florida 32720

www.MoArtDeLand.org

@MoArtDeLand

On the cover: Najee Dorsey, Return to Eden #2, 2019, Mixed media, 48 x 60 inches

Copyright ©2022 Museum of Art – DeLand. All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or any other method without the written consent by the Museum of Art – DeLand.

Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

The Museum of Art – DeLand warmly welcomes artist and entrepreneur Najee Dorsey, whose work is featured as the first exhibition of our 2022-23 Season. Many thanks to Mr. Dorsey for organizing this exhibition, and to Arnica Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta for connecting us; to South Arts for a presentation grant; and to the African American Museum of Art and Stetson University School of Business for their collaboration on related community events.

The following donors and businesses merit special appreciation for their support of this presentation and their commitment to this year’s exhibition schedule: David Abeles & Sue Sexton, Becky Adesso, Karen & Jeff Allebach, Gretchen and George Anderson, Phillip Ashley, Grady Ballenger & Karen Cole, Connie & Robert Berger, Carolyn & Bruce Bigman, Samuel & Donna Blatt, George Bolge, Ann Brady & Rick Kolodinsky, Alain & Cory Bricourt, Cici & J. Hyatt Brown, Jean & Tom Burns, Steven Buschman, Everett Butler, Billy Calkins, Kelly & Courtney Canova, Gwen & Edwin Carson, Marie Clark & Ernest Carpenter, Stephanie & Miles Clark, Dawn Clifford, Linda & John Clifford, Virginia & Joseph Comella, Vernette & Jon Conrad, Joan & Taver Cornett, Sal Cristofano & Laura Gosper, Greg Dasher, Manny De La Vega, Astrid de Parry, Paul & Michelle Deritter, Samantha Desmarais, Lisa & Ralph DeVitto, Sheila & Robert DeYoung, Jewel & Wayne Dickson, Mary Theresa Doan, Linda & Robert Dorian, Bobbie Doyle, Regina & Michael Dunn, Anthony Ehrlich & Pauline Copello, Richard & Carolyn Evans, Barbara Fisher, Barbara Girtman, Georgeann Godderz, Kyle Glass, Jane & Stephen Glover, Solomon Greene, Katheryn Hammer-Witty & Gary Miller, Lorna Jean Hagstrom, Nancy & Curtis Henschel, Susan & David Hensley, Catalina & William Hoffman, Charlene & Paul Holland, Karen & John Horn, Nancy Hutson and Ian Williams, Richard & Beth Jackson, Etta Jean & Frank Juge, Cynthia & Steve Kurth, Estate of Mary Ann Lawrence, Joan Lee, Margaret Lee, Jacquelyn & Lee Lewis, Claire Beth & Stanley Link, Mary Jeanne & Tim Ludwig, Bill & Marilyn Mancinik, Beth Marotte, Barbara & Charles Mars, Margot Matteson, Philip & Cynthia McConnell, Cecelia McLaughlin, David Scott Meier, Beth & Greg Milliken, Morland Family Trust, Gretchen & Ron Moyer, Lisa & Phillip Nall, Diane Perry, Frances Porter & Valerie Vaganek, Lisa Ogram, Todd Phillips, Jenneffer & Hari Pulapaka, Kandy Queen & Dixon Sutherland, Susan Quinn & Charles Foell, Barbara Rama & William Volker, Dagny & Tommy Robertson, Glenna & Joseph Roof, Claudia & Stephen Roth, Roger & Carol Schnetzer, Patty Schwarze & Don Hastings, Gabriel Smith, Elizabeth & Peter Sorensen, Kathy and Mac Steen, Marilyn & Timothy Stodola, Lavonne & Clifford Strachman, Marty & Joe Suarez, Judith Thompson, Mara Whitridge, Sandy & Dave Wilson, Nancy & John Wilton, Advent Health, City of DeLand, Earl W. & Patricia B. Colvard Foundation, County of Volusia, DeLand Breakfast Rotary Club, Duke Energy Foundation, Fall Festival of the Arts DeLand, Krewe of Amalee, Massey Services, Mainstreet Community Bank of Florida, the Museum Guild, Orlando Sentinel, Premiere Facilities Services, Publix Supermarket Charities, Robertson Advisory, Inc., Rotary Club of DeLand, South Arts, Inc., State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Walmart, West Volusia Beacon, Wholesale Lighting, Inc., WMFE, ZipSprout.

Finally, I would like to recognize the Museum’s Board of Trustees for their oversight and support, as well as the talented Museum staff whose daily achievements enable our organization to realize its ambitious and diverse exhibition program.

INTrodUCTIoN

Bold choices of colors, patterns, and textures immediately draw the viewer into the work of Najee Dorsey. Each work in Southern Crossroads generates an engaging visual experience and invites the viewer to experience themes of family, southern culture, and physical and figurative crossroads. Dorsey uses mixed media and photomontage to layer meaning and image together into a powerful depiction of Black history and life. Through his contemplative references to past, present, and future life in America, Dorsey demands our attention and focus.

Born in Arkansas in 1973, Dorsey embraced his artistic and entrepreneurial aspirations from an early age. His childhood near the Mississippi Delta and the exposure to Blues music and style shaped the visual language and imagery in his work. He went on to pursue his artistic career full time beginning in 2005 when he moved to Atlanta. Dorsey founded Black Art in America in 2010 and has gone on to build a large following and network around his organization that promotes the exposure of and collecting of works by African American artists. He currently serves as the CEO for Black Art in America which recently opened a permanent gallery and headquarters outside Atlanta.

Throughout much of the exhibition, Dorsey’s upbringing in the Mississippi Delta and his strong ties to community are evident through his focus on culturally southern nostalgic settings, portraits of family members and friends, and recognition of Black writers and musicians. The importance of generations and legacy is shown by how he depicts children in several works and he includes framed images of family figures in the background of Listening Room. Symbolic historical figures are incorporated in his work and he ennobles the centralized Black figures by emphasizing the figure in a luxuriously decorated interior. In This My Baldwin, Dorsey features the writer and civil and gay rights activist, James Baldwin. Set in a lavish interior space, Baldwin sits with his typewriter close by and surrounded by regal columns and ceiling, signifying the importance of his life and work. Dorsey’s use of vivid color and pattern reflects the rich history of the figures and time he portrays.

Southern Crossroads brings together the realities of history, a clear glimpse into the present, and an honest view of future possibilities. Najee Dorsey warmly invites the viewer as we say in the south, “to stay a while,” in the spaces and stories that he shares in his work.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

Art Space Richmond, VA

Avisca Fine Art Gallery, Marietta, GA

Black Art in America™ Gallery, Columbus, GA

The Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA

Griot Gallery Miami, FL

The Houston Museum of African American

Jackson State University, Jackson, MS

John A. Logan College Museum and Art Galleries, Carterville, IL

LMNT Gallery, Miami, FL

Mississippi Museum of Art (in collaboration with JSU), Jackson, MS

Nicole Gallery, Chicago, IL

Shawnee Community College, llin, IL

St. Bernard’s Hospital Breast Cancer Awareness, Jonesboro, AR

Southeast Missouri University, Cape Girardeau, MO

Stonecrest Library, Lithonia, GA

Syracuse Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse, NY

COLLECTIONS

African American Museum of Dallas, TX

Clark University Museum, Atlanta, GA

Columbus Museum, Columbus, GA

Community Folk Art Center, Syracuse University, NY

David C. Driskell Collection, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

David W. Mullins Library at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR

Paul R. Jones Collection, University of Delaware, Newark, DE

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA

PLaTes

CaTaLoGUe

And She Was There, No date, Collage, 33” x 33”

Bethlehem Steel, No date, Photomontage, 22” x 24”

Blu and Bat Boy, 2019, Mixed media, 32” x 42”

Cherokee Black, No date, Photomontage, 21” x 26”

Deep Down in the Mississippi Delta, No date, Photomontage, 65” x 32”

Dual of Duality, No date, Mixed media, 35” x 47”

French Fries and Hot Sauce, 2019, Mixed media, 26” x 38”

Gene’s Family Home, No date, Mixed media, 60” x 48”

Google Robert Charles, No date, Mixed media, 44” x 62”

Henrietta Lacks, No date, Photomontage, 32” x 42”

Here Comes the Champ, 2019, Mixed media, 38” x 63”

Hunting For Treasures, No date, Collage, 41” x 26”

In Big Mama Kitchen, No date, Mixed media, 40” x 64”

Indiana Slim, 2021, Photomontage, 20” x 22”

In the Parlor, 2019, Mixed media, 60” x 48”

Listening Room, 2020, Mixed media, 72” x 56”

Meet Up On the Other Side, 2020, Photomontage, 46” x 46”

Mr. Peacock Jones, 2019, Mixed media, 32” x 42”

Mother and Child, No date, Mixed media, 27” x 34”

My Grandfather’s Home, 2018, Mixed media, 48” x 48”

Old School Lessons, No date, Mixed media, 58” x 43”

Old School Party, No date, Mixed media, 50” x 38”

Only Child, No date, Mixed media, 34” x 40”

Out Of New Orleans, 2012, Mixed media, 43” x 71”

Peacock On a Leash, 2021, Photomontage, 24” x 25”

Picking Up the Pieces, No date, Photomontage, 30” x 27”

Pickles and Peppermint, 2020, Photomontage, 21” x 28”

Return to Eden #2, 2019, Mixed media, 48” x 60”

Serenade, No date, Mixed media, 49” x 49”

Somewhere South, No date, Mixed media, 62” x 27”

Stars and Stripes, 2019, Photomontage, 49” x 51”

Summer, 2019, Photomontage, 50” x 35”

Tenderness, 2019, Mixed media, 49” x 61”

The Family Business, No date, Mixed media, 46” x 22”

The GOAT, No date, Mixed media, 30 x 40”

The Healer, No date, Mixed media, 48” x 60”

This My Baldwin, 2020, Mixed media, 84” x 56”

Walker’s Daughter, 2020, Photomontage, 38” x 50”

What Democracy Looks Like, Photomontage, 32” x 25”

Winter in America, 2020, Photomontage, 48” x 42”