things that I was fascinated or interested in was figuring out my DNA,” he said.
Some of Bailey’s work also expresses multiple meanings, such as his piece called EW SN, which reveals railroad tracks and being at a crossroads. He also acknowledged his contentment with showcasing his work at the High, some of it for the first time ever.
“I think as artists we all try to create new spaces and go in different directions,” he said. “For one thing, having the show at the museum, I wanted to have that space. Sometimes I think within those spaces, people can see things that are not necessarily resolved, but for me it’s completely resolved.
“It draws in … I like feeling uncomfortable and I think as a kid, I liked playing chess,” he said. “I loved to lose, because I learn from my mistakes. I learn from losing. I love painting, but painting with colors don’t make sense together until I can ‘fight the battle,’ and that’s like the perfect space for me. I enjoy that.”
The exhibition is curated by Carol Thompson, the High’s Fred and Rita Richman Curator of African Art, in consultation with managing curator Michael Rooks, the High’s Wieland Family Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. The exhibition has been partially funded by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of American Masterpieces: Three Centuries of Artistic Genius.
Vicki and John Palmer, along with Jay and Arthur Richardson, established a Radcliffe Bailey Guild to support the exhibition.
“This landmark exhibition will be the most comprehensive presentation of Radcliffe Bailey’s work to date and will continue on a national tour to the David Museum and Cultural Center, Wellesley, Mass.; the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Texas, and additional venues yet to be announced,” the guild co-chairs wrote in a letter seeking support for the guild. The guild has planned a series of special events during the run of the exhibit.
Bailey’s work is also represented in many other museum collections throughout the U.S., including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
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