209 South Beatty Avenue
Danville, KY 40422
(859) 238-5348
Website: centre.edu
Hours:  Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm

Black Palimpsest

Featuring Jared Thorne
Website: jaredthorne.com

Dates: October 25 – December 1, 2023
Events: Reception: November 3, 2023 4:30-6:30pm
Artist Talk: November 3, 2023 7 pm

In my series, Black Palimpsest, I have been interested in reconfiguring and re-contextualizing traditional African masks using a multifaceted approach that includes painting, sculpture, and photography. The dioramas take several forms, each designed to raise questions about Black identity by considering the intersection and contradiction between the geographically disparate yet deeply connected communities of Black American and Black Africans.

As a Black artist investigating the culture of his own people, Jared Thorne seeks to challenge hegemonic as well as self-imposed frameworks of Black Identity in the United States and beyond. Thorne’s work centers on issues of race, social class, and gender. He engages questions of authenticity, representation, and history, challenging the viewer to redefine their relationship to contemporary culture. Recently, Thorne has been exploring the diasporic relationship between America and Africa.