Radcliffe Bailey Explained

Radcliffe Bailey
Birth Date:25 November 1968
Birth Place:Bridgeton, New Jersey, U.S.
Death Place:Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Field:Painting, sculpture, mixed media
Training:Atlanta College of Art
Spouse:
  • Leslie Campbell Parks
Children:2
Awards:• 2008 Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant
• 2010 Mallory Factory Prize for Southern Art

Radcliffe Bailey (November 25, 1968 – November 14, 2023) was an American contemporary visual artist noted for mixed-media, paint, and sculpture works that explore African-American history.[1] He was based in Atlanta, Georgia.[2]

Early life and education

Radcliffe Bailey was born in Bridgeton, New Jersey on November 25, 1968.[3] [4] [5] At age four, he moved to Atlanta, Georgia. His interest in art was galvanised by childhood visits to the High Museum of Art and drawing classes he later took at the Atlanta College of Art.[6] He cited Atlanta's history with civil rights and the Civil War as artistic inspirations.[7] Bailey received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1991 from the Atlanta College of Art.

From 2001 to 2006, he taught at the Lamar Dodd School of Art at the University of Georgia.[8]

Work

Bailey was trained as a sculptor but experimented with paint and mixed media.[9] He worked within the convergence of painting and sculpture, utilizing items such as vintage photographs of his family, vinyl records, piano keys, and bottlecaps. Thematically, his art explores the intersection of ancestry, race, and cultural memory.[10] In 2003, he adopted a style of art conceptually inspired by Kongo minkisi, which he described as being "medicine cabinet sculptures." As a result, his work has been described as being three-dimensional and layered, incorporating elements of smell and sound. In a 2013 interview, Bailey described his creative process and fascination with the connection between past and present, stating: "The day by day experience of art, even though my work may seem to have this layer of history, it is also a cover for what I’m dealing with on a day to day. It’s very much about today. We were talking about where I go next: I’m still thinking about today and yesterday and what’s coming in front of me tomorrow." He was largely inspired by historical figures, citing individuals such as George Washington Carver and Charleston-based blacksmith Philip Simmons as sources of inspiration.

His large-scale installation Windward Coast (2009–2011), was presented as part of the First International Biennial of Contemporary Art of Cartagena de Indias in Colombia. In 2023, Bailey's work was included in the collective exhibition Spirit in the Land organized by the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University and later exhibited at the Pérez Art Museum Miami in 2024. The show talks about the natural environments of the United States and that of the Caribbean in relation social and cultural aspects.[11] [12] [13]

Awards

He was recognized for his artistic contributions, receiving the Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant in 2008 and the Elizabeth and Mallory Factory Prize for Southern Art in 2010.

Later life and death

On June 27, 2009, Bailey married American actress, dancer, and producer Victoria Rowell. The wedding was announced in The New York Times. The couple divorced in 2014.[14] Bailey later married Leslie Campbell Parks, daughter of photographer Gordon Parks.[15] Bailey had two children, a son and a daughter.

Radcliffe Bailey died on November 14, 2023, in Atlanta, Georgia, after battling brain cancer. He was 54.[16] [17] [18]

Solo exhibitions

Bailey held solo exhibitions of his work at many galleries and institutions including:[19]

Collections

Bailey's work is held in many permanent collections including:[21]

Notes and References

  1. News: Zigman. Laura. Victoria Rowell and Radcliffe Bailey. 9 February 2020. The New York Times. July 11, 2009.
  2. News: Radcliffe Bailey. Museum of Contemporary Art of Georgia (MOCA GA). 2017-12-21. en-US.
  3. Web site: Radcliffe Bailey - Jack Shainman Gallery . Jack Shainman Gallery . 9 February 2020.
  4. Book: Okwu, Julian C. R. . Face Forward: Young African American Men in a Critical Age . March 1997 . Chronicle Books . 978-0-8118-1631-1 . en.
  5. Web site: Radcliffe Bailey (American, b.1968) . 2023-11-16 . McNay Art Museum . en.
  6. News: Radcliffe Bailey: Memory as Medicine . en-US . High Museum of Art . 9 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20230128075852/https://www.high.org/exhibition/radcliffe-bailey/ . 28 January 2023.
  7. News: Review Radcliffe Bailey exhibition evokes the harsh history of slavery. Washington Post. en. 2018-09-25.
  8. Web site: Biography - Radcliffe Bailey. www.bridgettemayergallery.com. 9 February 2020.
  9. Web site: Radcliffe Bailey Biography. fac.umass.edu. 2018-03-26.
  10. News: Radcliffe Bailey: Pensive Gibbes Museum of Art. 2018-05-03. Gibbes Museum of Art. 2018-09-25. en-US.
  11. Web site: Spirit in the Land . 2024-02-28 . Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University . en-US.
  12. Web site: Spirit in the Land • Pérez Art Museum Miami . 2024-02-28 . Pérez Art Museum Miami . en-US.
  13. Book: Schoonmaker, Trevor . Spirit in the land: Exhibition, Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, 2023 . 2023 . Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University . 978-0-938989-45-5 . Durham, North Carolina.
  14. Web site: January 2, 2014 . 'Young and Restless' Star My Marriage Has Been Cancelled . 24 September 2016 . TMZ.
  15. Web site: Dafoe . Taylor . 2018-08-06 . 'I Always Have a Foot Back in Time': Radcliffe Bailey's New Show in a Former School Building Turns an Eye on Collective Memory . 2023-11-16 . Artnet News . en-US.
  16. Web site: Edward . Roz . 2023-11-15 . Famed Artist Radcliffe Bailey Dies . 2023-11-16 . Atlanta Daily World . en-US.
  17. Web site: Greenberger . Alex . 2023-11-15 . Radcliffe Bailey, Artist Who Found Black History in the Everyday, Dies at 55 . 2023-11-16 . ARTnews.com . en-US.
  18. Web site: Haggard . Hannah Grace . 2023-11-15 . Atlanta Artist Radcliffe Bailey Dies At 55 . 2023-11-16 . The Georgia Sun . en-us.
  19. Web site: Radcliffe Bailey. Artnet Worldwide Corporation. 20 December 2017.
  20. Web site: In the Picture: Atlanta, Africa and the Past . The New York Times . 30 June 2011 . 9 February 2020.
  21. Web site: Collection/Radcliffe Bailey . 20 December 2017 . The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  22. Web site: Artist Info . 2023-02-09 . www.nga.gov.

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