The Hite Art Institute, University of Louisville, College of Arts and Sciences is proud to present four new bodies of work by nationally recognized artist Mark Priest at Schneider Hall Galleries on Belknap Campus and the Hite Art Institute Cressman Gallery downtown. Priest is Professor of Painting at The Hite Art Institute, with an MFA in Painting from Yale University.

For this exhibition, Underground Railroad 2015, Priest has developed a series of paintings and drawings that shed light on the psyche and physical conditions endured by enslaved individuals in the United States prior to the Civil War, conditions which continue to influence American life. Through a close study of archival and historical texts and extensive field research at sites along the route of the Underground Railroad, Priest contemplates and illuminates this powerful imagery and the metaphor that emerged from the thoughtful and brave acts of historically prominent freedom seekers in significant places: Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Charles Nalle and the now landmarked site, Joseph Stewart’s Canal.
The works comprising the Frederick Douglass Drawing Series, Nalle Series, Tubman Series and Stewart’s Canal are the result of Priest’s experiments with media, testing his definitions of painting and drawing. The formal artistic experiment that defines this expansive exhibition is further explored through the artist’s inclusion of audio and the presentation of research materials and ephemera. These choices support Priest’s dedication to communicating the rationale for his selection of these stories and images from the multitude of untold stories of freedom seekers, which have played a major role in American history.
The public education program is a fundamental aspect of this exhibition. Refer to http://louisville.edu/art/exhibitions-lectures for information.

Artist Biography

Significant past solo exhibitions include: The Museum of Rural Life, Mark Priest: Harriet Tubman, The Underground railroad The Building of Stewart’s Canal, Denton, MD (2013-14); Dorchester Art Center, Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad, Cambridge, MD (2009); 40 Acres Gallery Collaboration with California State Railroad Museum, Sacramento, CA (2005); Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH (2004); University of Kentucky Museum, Lexington, KY (1999); Bershad Gallery, Boston, Massachusetts (1999); Women on the Railroad, George Meany Archives Gallery, Silver Springs, MD (1998); University of Texas at El Paso, Fox Fine Arts Gallery, El Paso, TX (1997); American Labor Museum, Haledon, NJ (1997); Wayne State University Art Gallery, Detroit, MI (1996-7); Mount St. Joseph College, Studio Giuseppe Art Gallery Cincinnati, OH (1996); Michigan State University Museum, Lansing, MI (1996); Triangle Gallery, Sponsored by Sam Gilliam, Washington, DC (1986); The Painted Persona, Natalina Gallery, Chicago, IL (1986).

This project is funded in part by an Intramural Research Incentive Grant (IRIG) from the Office of the Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation at the University of Louisville, the Commission on Diversity & Racial Equality (CODRE) at the University of Louisville, and the National Park Service, US Department of the Interior.