Inside & Out unites sculptures by Melvin Edwards with drawings by Peter Saul. Both artists are in their mid-seventies and celebrated for their expressive works that examine violence, anxiety, and irony. This is the first exhibition that pairs them together, exploring their use of images, materials, and themes. The emotional interiority of Edwards’ sculptures and the comic expansiveness of Saul’s compositions provide formidable examples of how to reconcile formal inventiveness and socio-political content.

Edwards uses a diverse palette of metal objects to create his wall-mounted sculptures known as Lynch Fragments. This extended series, begun in the 1970s, offers gnarled constructions of welded metal—chains, industrial bolts and spikes, locks, and tools. With their rough geometries and compressed energy, they offer a meditation on the history of violence and transcendence in the African-American experience.

Saul has developed a cartoon world of exaggerated male and female figures, food, and bodily fluids. His drawings freely mix references to art history and recent scandals, and works in the exhibition include a portrait based on Willem de Kooning’s Woman and a satirical image of investment swindler Bernie Madoff.

Inside & Out has been developed in association with the National Black Arts Festival. Special thanks go to David Nolan Gallery and Alexander Gray Associates in New York City for their generous support.

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Images:
Melvin Edwards, Texas August (detail), 2006, Welded steel, 9 × 8 × 5.5 inches, Courtesy the artist and Alexander Gray Associates, NY
Peter Saul, Portrait in the Style of de Kooning (detail), 2007, Acrylic on paper, 59.75 × 41.5 inches, Courtesy the artist and David Nolan Gallery, NY