Rockland County, N.Y
Sunday, December 27, 1998, 3B
Two exhibits provide showcase for African art
Paintings, sculptures, can be seen in children's museum in Nyack, Pomona gallery
By: Debra Apedo
Special to The Journal News
Two exhibits of work by Kenyan children and Zimbabwean sculptors offer art lovers a chance to view unusual and little-seen paintings and sculptures.
A collection of the children's drawings and paintings makes up the Kenyan Children's Art Exhibit at the Hudson Valley Children's Museum in Nyack.
And 100 sculptures by some of Zimbabwe's most renowned artists are being shown in the Sub Saharan Stonework exhibit at the African Project Gallery in Pomona.
Organizers of the exhibitions expressed a deep connection with the African people that they support with art training and charitable works.
New York artist Mark Scheflen traveled to the Makueni and Machakos districts in Kenya and asked hundreds of schoolchildren to react to paintings and drawings by their American peers.
'We'd take the (American) paintings and drawings and spread them out on the ground. (The children) were amazing, just so interested in everything," Scheflen said Thursday.
One striking piece is a college of a hut produced with materials gathered outside a student's home. Other works portray village and social life or have animals themes.
Elizabeth Egbert, the museum's executive director, noted the exhibit's cultural and artistic importance to the museum. "we're very excited to have the artwork of children on display, especially when it's international," Egbert said yesterday.
Janice Thomas, a seventh-grader at Nyack Middle School who volunteers at the museums, said she thought the work was creative.
The Zimbabwaen artwork is from the home of professional photographer Clarence Davis, who runs The African Project Gallery. the collection features carved serpentine stone, as well as works in opal and granite. Mythical, human and animals themes are reflected in the sculptures.A remarkable sculpture is "The Way She Dressed" a brown serpentine work in which half of the stone is a highly polished rendition of a woman. The other half is rough chiseled stone and represents her garment, which she is pulling toward one shoulder.
Scheflen's and Davis' exhibits further their charitable concerns. Scheflen finances his project, which provides artistic training for Kenyan and U.S. children. The proceeds from Davis' gallery fund The African Project, in which he trains at-risk youths in photojournalism and takes them on trips to Africa.
Maggie and Frantz Borno of Hillcrest visited Davis' gallery yesterday to browse and buy. Frantz Borno noted the importance of such exhibits to Rockland.
"The spirit of Kwanzaa is here with us, and we had to come out and let out kids get exposed to that," Borno said. "it's important for them to understand."
Both exhibits remain open until Feb. 28.