Art exhibit features 'Vanishing Black Man'

As part of Black History Month, Elmhurst College will host "The Endangered Species: A Visual Response to the Vanishing Black Man," an exhibition of Raub Welch's works.

The art uses "the unsettling power of juxtaposition to retell the truths of black manhood," Welch said.

"We as a society have graduated to a misguided comfort when it comes to defining the black man: dutiful, aggressive, industrious, thoughtless, strong and, most incorrectly, simple," he said.

"As creatures, we black men carry a narrative too ghastly and nightmarish to ever qualify as merely 'simple.' The larger issue, and perhaps the focus of my exhibit, is that we have completely divorced the concept of beauty from the black man.

"My exhibit aims to interrogate these prejudices, reassess our own predispositions, and redefine the black male as an entity that is beautifully complex and longing for humanity."

Welch, who focuses on mixed media collage and works in a variety of styles, has shown in many exhibitions across the United States, including solo exhibitions in Chicago at the DuSable Museum of African-American History and the South Side Community Art Center.

In addition to his work as an artist, Welch is an art collector and the owner and principal designer of Very Raub Interiors and Events, a gallery and design space in Chicago.

The Black History Exhibition runs Monday, Feb. 1, through Friday, March 18. It can be viewed days and evenings in the Founders Lounge of the Frick Center on campus, 190 Prospect Ave., Elmhurst.

A reception with the artist is 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, in the Founders Lounge, with an artist's talk at 5 p.m. Both the exhibition and reception are free.

For information, call (630) 617-5186.