Central College's Mills Gallery to Exhibit Works of Bharat Ajari
Pella, IA (02/08/2021) — Central College will welcome the works of Bharat Ajari to the Mills Gallery from Feb. 15 to March 12 as part of the college's Black History Month programming. His exhibit is titled "The Miseducation of Bharat Ajari."
A visual artist and photographer, Ajari's work focuses on creating paintings of contemporary African American and Black life, both in content and palette choice. His work is an exploration of color as a reference to people of African descent and as a vivid, bold approach to applying paint to canvas.
"My work assumes a meaning of color that is primarily post-modern: It means different things to different people. Regarding color as an ontological reference to people of African descent … I am using the term "color" to explore and celebrate the meaning of a community's lived experiences," Ajari says. "These lived experiences range from celebration and joy to pain and sorrow, the entire gamut of human possibilities. The identification of being a people of color impacts the lives of people of color."
Ajari's style is grounded in post-modernism and inter-subjective perspectives. The primary investigation of his work is what it means to be Black.
"The figures in my paintings are an existential expression of Blackness where Blackness is both the search and an open-ended question of what it means to be human, including those figures that are 'non-African American/Black,' or white," Ajari says.
Ajari is an adjunct instructor in psychology and writing at Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. He is currently in an artist residency program at the Contemporary Art Museum in St. Louis, where he teaches art to high school students. Most recently, Ajari has begun teaching creative writing with Healing and Arts, a St. Louis-based program designed to help adults re-entering society.
Ajari has a Doctor of Ministry and Master of Divinity from Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri; a master's in professional counseling from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri; and a bachelor's in English with an emphasis in creative writing and a Black studies minor from the University of Missouri-Columbia. He has exhibited his artwork in solo and group art shows in several galleries in St. Louis and St. Charles.
An artist's talk is yet to be determined. The Mills Gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Central College of Pella, Iowa, is a private, four-year liberal arts college. Central is known for its academic rigor, leadership and character development, global experiential learning, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and sustainability education, athletics and service. For more information about Central College: www.central.edu.
Media Attachments
Central College
Emily Hawk (641) 628-5339, hawke@central.eduShare this Story
Recent News
- Central RED Explores the Specialness of Manning, Iowa
- Central College Personal Training Program Recognized
- Central College Earns Two Best of District VI CASE Awards
- Remembering Saipan with Central's Mark Barloon
- Central College Enters Iowa Private Transfer Guarantee Admission Agreement
- Watch the Iconic 'A Christmas Carol' Production at Central
- Mills Gallery Welcomes Art Exhibit by Leo Bird '14
- Sounds of the Seasons from Central College
- Central College Announces Geisler-Penquite Foundation Scholarship Winners
- Unraveling the Election Results with Professor Andrew Green