Derrick Alexis Coard
Organized with HAI

November 8–December 20, 2014 320 West 13th Street
Three framed portraits installed in a row on a white wall.

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2015

Ten framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2015

Eight framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2015

A black and white portrait of a Black man with long hair and a long beard.

Derrick Alexis Coard
Original Israel, 2012
Graphite on paper
24 × 18 in.

A black and white portrait of a Black man with a bald head and a long beard. A large exclamation mark floats on the left side of his head.

Derrick Alexis Coard
Excited for Wisdom, 2012
Pastel and graphite on paper
24 × 18 in.

A profile portrait of a man with blue hair and a blue beard. Illustrated beside him on the right are a leaf, a ball of fire. Below him, an afro pick.

Derrick Alexis Coard
Let My Hair Grow, 2013
Graphite and pastel on paper
18 × 24 in.

Press Release

White Columns is proud to present a solo exhibition by the New York-based artist Derrick Alexis Coard (b. 1981, Brooklyn). Coard is affiliated with New York’s Healing Arts Initiative (H.A.I.), a center that works with adult artists with mental illness and developmental disabilities. Coard has worked at H.A.I. for the past six years.

Coard’s exhibition is a survey of his drawing practice, featuring works produced over the past 14 years. The earliest work in the exhibition was produced in 2000, when Coard was still in his teens, the most recent works date from 2014 and are from his ongoing series of imagined ‘portraits’ of bearded black men.

Writing about his life and work Coard states: “At the age of four I started to draw beyond a child’s natural ability. I was very gifted for my age. I had a fascination with New York City’s bridges and I drew them quite well. My art has evolved over the years as I have gotten older, and during my adolescence I started drawing images of bearded black men. I later found out that the bearded look is the image God favored when speaking through Moses for men not to use razors. … During high school I attended Saturday art classes at F.I.T., summer school at the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and night classes at the Jamaica Art Center … and more recently I received hands-on experience working at the Saturday studio sessions at H.A.I. My art is my voice for the human race. I use bearded black men as a symbolic expression for possible change in the African American community. … My work is a form of testimonial where black men can be seen in a more positive and righteous light.”

This is White Columns sixth collaboration with H.A.I. and its affiliated artists, previous projects include solo presentations at White Columns of Ray Hamilton and Rocco Fama’s work, and a booth dedicated to the work H.A.I. artists at the 2014 Frieze New York art fair. We would like to thank Quimetta Perle and the staff at H.A.I. for their enthusiasm and support. To find out more about H.A.I., its programs and artists visit: www.hainyc.org

For more information contact: info@whitecolumns.org

Checklist

Related Press

Three framed portraits installed in a row on a white wall.
Ten framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.
Eight framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.
A black and white portrait of a Black man with long hair and a long beard.
A black and white portrait of a Black man with a bald head and a long beard. A large exclamation mark floats on the left side of his head.
A profile portrait of a man with blue hair and a blue beard. Illustrated beside him on the right are a leaf, a ball of fire. Below him, an afro pick.

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2014 (Three framed portraits installed in a row on a white wall.)

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2014 (Ten framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.)

Derrick Alexis Coard, installation view, 2014 (Eight framed portraits installed in a row along two adjacent walls.)

Derrick Alexis Coard, Derrick Alexis Coard Original Israel, 2012 Graphite on paper 24 × 18 in. (A black and white portrait of a Black man with long hair and a long beard.)

Derrick Alexis Coard, Derrick Alexis Coard Excited for Wisdom, 2012 Pastel and graphite on paper 24 × 18 in. (A black and white portrait of a Black man with a bald head and a long beard. A large exclamation mark floats on the left side of his head.)

Derrick Alexis Coard, Derrick Alexis Coard Let My Hair Grow, 2013 Graphite and pastel on paper 18 × 24 in. (A profile portrait of a man with blue hair and a blue beard. Illustrated beside him on the right are a leaf, a ball of fire. Below him, an afro pick.)