Austin Art Pick: Wrestling History

_{Warfield Center Galleries
Curated by Anthony B. Pinn, Ph.D.
May 12th – December 9th}

Wrestling History: Points Along a Journey of Dis/covery Hidden in the Temple is the latest exhibition at the newly renovated galleries at the John L. Warfield Center for African and African-American Studies at the University of Texas. This collection features works by contemporary artist Angelbert Metoyer, who splits his time between Houston and Rotterdam. Combining his interests in philosophy, quantum physics and astronomy, and drawing from stories of his own family’s heritage—the Cane River Creoles of 18th century Louisiana—Metoyer delivers a body of work that is spiritually and politically engaging. Curated by Anthony B. Pinn, Ph.D., the show includes painting, sculptural installation, mixed-media collage and video. Metoyer and Pinn see the exhibition as an opportunity to reframe the gallery’s space and bring together images, signs and symbols from an African past, as well as contemporary markers of cultural meaning. “The works are meant to foster transformation,” noted Pinn. The Warfield Center’s state-of-the-art gallery has been designed to exhibit, contemplate and discuss art and material culture as it relates to the black experience in the United States and throughout the Diaspora.