Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation Opens at The Rockwell Museum

Corning, N.Y. – Stephen Towns Studio and The Rockwell Museum are pleased to jointly announce the fall spotlight exhibition Stephen Towns’ Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation. The exhibition will open to the public on September 21, 2024 at The Rockwell Museum in Corning, NY and be on view until January 19, 2025.

• Thursday, September 19 | Noon – 5 p.m.
  Press Preview, By Appointment Only
  Artist Stephen Towns will be available for comment, by appointment only. Contact vogelw@rockwellmuseum.org by Thursday morning to schedule.
• Friday, September 20 | 10:30 a.m.
  Gallery Talk with Artist Stephen Towns
  Open to the public | Included with regular Museum admission
• Friday, September 20 | 5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m.; Artist Remarks at 6 p.m.
  Exhibition Opening Reception
  Advance registration required by 5 p.m. on September 19

Artist Stephen Towns recovers the African American past, captured in snippets of overheard conversations or family treasures that show their age and wear, to assemble quilts and render stories in paint. Digging through local archives, Towns finds photographs of everyday people going about their lives, whether getting pampered in a makeshift beauty parlor or enjoying the Florida sunshine. He transports his figures to a world of vivid color and texture. In Towns’ artwork, these fleeting glimpses of the past allow the viewer to imagine the possibilities of lives lived to the fullest, and communities who create their own spaces to be their freest selves. 

In Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation, Towns celebrates the joy an African American community found in a created space: Paradise Park in Ocala, Florida. Though separated from the whites-only park that shared the same river due to racial prejudice, the people who flocked to Paradise Park carved out their own space to rest, to celebrate, and to be themselves. Shown together for the first time, Towns’ paintings and quilts amplify the images that remain of the park and gives the artist a platform to imagine what everyone’s lives could be like if they were truly welcome in the world. 

The paintings featured in Private Paradise are interpolations of photographer Bruce Mozert’s images taken as advertisements for Paradise Park. The quilted pieces in the exhibition are Towns’ imagined respite for Black beach goers, full of narrative and detail. The quilts Looking for Lorraine and A Taste of Lemonade offer an imagined safe space for two lesbian lovers set in nostalgic settings while the quilts I Will Follow You My Dear and Motown in Motion offer a look into young lovers escaping Jim Crow’s watchful eye under a glittering summer night sky.

The exhibition is a departure from Towns’ former work that unpacks grittier Black American history. When Towns began making the work in 2022, shortly after making forty works about black day workers for a solo exhibition, he told Bomb Magazine “I felt wonderful giving reverence to my ancestors, but the labor of creating images of Black laborers gave me fatigue.”

With this new body of work, Towns explores how these parks and beaches could be places of refuge and recreation for Black Americans dealing with the Jim Crow south. To lean into the joyful aspects of the artwork, the exhibition features interactive components like a vintage radio playing period music, as well as a beach-themed photo station for visitors.

Amanda Lett, Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at The Rockwell, says "We are thrilled to showcase Stephen Towns' work in a full exhibition after recently adding a painting of his to the Museum's collection. In 2024, The Rockwell is exploring the theme of Creating Connections, and Towns' work helps viewers bridge the gap between the past and the present, and who we have been and who we could be. His art brilliantly elevates the stories of everyday life.”

Stephen Towns lives and works in Baltimore, MD. He trained as a painter with a BFA in studio art from the University of South Carolina and has also developed a rigorous, self-taught quilting practice. In 2018 the Baltimore Museum of Art presented his first museum exhibition, Stephen Towns: Rumination and a Reckoning. In 2021, Towns was an artist-in-residence at the Fallingwater Institute, at Frank Lloyd Wrights' renowned Fallingwater house in Pennsylvania. In 2023, Towns wrapped a three-city touring solo museum exhibition Stephen Towns: Declaration & Resistance and released his first monograph of the same name. Towns was recently named The 2024 Mary Sawyers Imboden Prize and Baker Award prize winner.

This exhibition is made possible in part by the CJSS Skillern Family Art Museum.

About The Rockwell Museum: A Smithsonian Affiliate

The Rockwell Museum, in association with the Smithsonian Institution, tells the story of the evolving American experience through a display of stunning art about America. Founded in 1976, The Rockwell is an evolving community center which showcases the best of America through compelling exhibitions and imaginative programs. The diverse collection includes a mix of contemporary Native American art with traditional bronze sculptures, landscape paintings and other works that embody America. Housed in the beautifully restored 19th century Old City Hall building, The Rockwell is active in the local community and holds special events and educational programming with area public schools. The Rockwell provokes curiosity, engagement and reflection about art and the American experience.

The Rockwell Museum’s programs are made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

Image: Motown in Motion

Press-Approved Images: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/oqzjgw48ddfpap2c3tr2j/AHRtwSmW58lR3MFwP1lr8fw?rlkey=vlywdo318yqw7h1pt2i0o26s4&st=howhira0&dl=0

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