MANSFIELD — The Pearl Conard Gallery and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion at Ohio State Mansfield is presenting Power versus Power, an exhibition by Baltimore-based artist Kumasi Barnett.
Influenced by the aesthetics and narratives of comic books, Barnett’s work subverts and imbues the often-timeless genre with a present-day social consciousness.
Power versus Power will showcase comic books that Barnett has directly painted over, changing their narratives into critiques of social and political issues including police brutality, systemic racism, fake news, and our political system.
Barnett’s works have been exhibited both in the United States and abroad, including exhibitions at Lowell Ryan Projects, Los Angeles, California; BravinLee programs, New York, New York; the SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, New York; City Lore, New York, New York; Con-Artist Collective, New York, New York; The Arsenal Gallery, New York, New York; Sulphur Bath Studio, Brooklyn, New York; and The Brooklyn Public Library, Brooklyn, New York.
Museum exhibitions include the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, South Africa; The Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida; and most recently the Verge Center for the Arts, Sacramento, California.
Barnett presented a solo booth with Lowell Ryan Projects at The Armory Show 2020, in the Focus section curated by Jamillah James.
Barnett currently teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and his work has been featured in Artforum, Ammo, Vibe, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, Autre, Artnet News, and The Guardian, among others.
Power versus Power will run Monday, Feb. 21 through Friday, March 11, 2022 at the Pearl Conard Art Gallery (Room 145 Ovalwood Hall, 1760 University Drive, Mansfield, Ohio 44906).
In addition, the artist will give a Zoom talk on Thursday, March 3 from 12:35 to 1:30 p.m. The link to the Zoom talk can be found on the gallery’s website: u.osu.edu/pcagallery
The gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (please note that the gallery is staffed by students, so hours may shift. Email Professor Kate Shannon at shannon.112@osu.edu to make an appointment to see the space).
