The College of Charleston’s Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture will host an exhibition entitled, “Color in Freedom Experience: An Interactive Journey Along the Underground Railroad” by Maryland artist Joseph Holston from April 10, 2013 through May 20, 2013. The artist will attend an opening reception at 6:00 p.m. on April 10. Both the opening reception and the exhibition are open to the public.
After_Harriet-AveryThe exhibition includes 49 paintings, etchings and drawings by Holston.

The art works are divided into four movements that track the flow of events in the lives of the enslaved men, women and children who traveled along the Underground Railroad. The artwork is displayed in the following groups: The Unknown World, Living in Bondage, The Journey of Escape, and Color in Freedom.

The stories of the Underground Railroad are some of the most powerful in American history.  Holston created his art to capture the essence of the courage and determination required by slaves to escape; and to enhance understanding of the condition of slavery and the powerful instinct toward freedom. The stories of the Underground Railroad are some of the most powerful in American history.

Holston’s cubist abstractionist style has evolved over a fine arts career spanning over thirty-five years. A critically acclaimed artist, he has exhibited at museums across the country and many of his works are in collections in museums including the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Yale University Art Gallery; the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design; the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture; the Lyndon B. Johnson Library at the University of Texas; the University of Maryland University College, among many others.

This program is sponsored by the National Endowment of Humanities for participation in the College of Charleston’s Jubilee project.

For more information, contact Curtis J. Franks at 843. 953 .7610.