On the occasion of the first-ever Los Angeles exhibition by late American artist Winfred Rembert, please join us on Tuesday 23 July for a conversation between Sandra Jackson-Dumont, Director and CEO of the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, and artist Gary Tyler, moderated by Kate Fowle, Curatorial Senior Director at Hauser & Wirth.
‘Winfred Rembert. Hard Times’ includes paintings from two of the artist’s most recognizable bodies of work—the Cotton Field and Chain Gang collections. Reflecting his upbringing on a sharecropping field in Georgia in the 1950s and his labor on a prison chain gang in the 1960s and ‘70s, the exhibition is dedicated to a pair of harrowing but formative chapters in Rembert’s life. At once figural and abstract, painted and sculptural, Rembert’s compositions feature varying palettes, ranging from the natural tones of the leather and the graphic use of black and white to the incorporation of vibrant blocks of color.
About Sandra Jackson-Dumont
Curator, author, educator, administrator and public advocate for reimagining the role of art museums in society, Sandra Jackson-Dumont has served as Director and Chief Executive Officer of the new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art since January 2020. She oversees all curatorial, educational, public and operational affairs for the fast-developing institution, including realization of the currently under construction 11-acre campus in Los Angeles, which includes a nearly 300,000-square-foot museum building and an expansive new park. Throughout her roles with some of the country’s most renowned museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Studio Museum in Harlem, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Seattle Art Museum, and now the Lucas Museum, she has collaborated extensively with living artists, communities, creatives and historical materials. Her work catalyzes the presence of increasingly dynamic and diverse audiences in cultural spaces while exploring issues of relevance.
About Gary Tyler
Gary Tyler is a fiber artist, living and working in Los Angeles, California. At the age of 16, he was sentenced to death for a crime he did not commit. Though his case was the subject of international outcry, the artist spent 42 years in Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana, before being released at the age of 57. For over four decades, Tyler has been working at the intersection of art and social justice, teaching himself how to quilt to support the Angola Prison Hospice program, where he was a volunteer. For three decades, Tyler was the President of the Angola Prison drama program, using the position to promote a culture of community, civic responsibility and optimism. Since coming home, Tyler worked for nearly eight years doing outreach at Safe Place for Youth (SPY) in Pasadena.
Tyler is a 2019 and 2020 Art Matters Awardee, and in 2024 he was awarded a Right of Return Fellowship by the Center for Art and Advocacy, as well as the Frieze Impact Prize, which recognizes an artist who has made a significant impact on society with their work. Selected by a jury comprising Ariel Emanuel (CEO, Endeavor), Gary Simmons (artist) and Tina Perry-Whitney (President, OWN TV Network and OTT Streaming), the award included a solo presentation at Frieze LA. He has recently started showing with the Library Street Collective in Detroit and his work is in the collections of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C. as well as the City of Santa Monica’s Art Bank.
