Hometime

Multimedia artist Romare Bearden was cited by the New York Times, upon his death, as the preeminent collage artist in America. Drawing from his Southern roots—and the experience of growing up as an African American in the summers of North Carolina—Bearden put a deeply American spin on the Cubism of Picasso and Vermeer’s Dutch Classicism.

Similar to much of his collage work, Hometime is a piece that serves as visual metaphor. The juxtaposition of keen edges, heightened dimension, vivid color, and sometimes a dash of surrealism comes together to create a rhythmic disjointedness. Despite the chaotic approach, Bearden manages to tell a comprehensive story in an astonishing and unexpected way.

It has often been accredited to Bearden that his diverse background was a similar collage of inspiration that often synergized to create collages that were abstract yet deeply personal. “Picasso invented collage art, and Bearden was inspired by Picasso, who was, ironically, inspired by African art, so in that way the creative process comes full circle.” – Louis Zona, director of the Butler Institute of American Art.