Olin Hall Galleries Fall Events

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Johnny Floyd

The Magician-Johnny Floyd

2024-25 Calendar of Events

September – October 2024

Copenhaver Scholar-in-Residence - Clover Archer

Roanoke College

Join us in welcoming our Copenhaver Scholar-in-Residence recipient, Clover Archer, a multifaceted artist and curator, joining us at Roanoke College from September to October 2024. With a rich background spanning photography, drawing, performance, texts, video, and installation, Archer brings a unique perspective to her work, which often delves into granular histories and the ordinary moments often overlooked by time.

As the former Gallery Director at Washington & Lee University and curator at the Waynesboro Heritage Foundation, Archer has extensive experience in both artistic creation and exhibition curation. During her residency, Archer will collaborate with our community and The Center for Studying Structures of Race contributing to the Genealogy of Slavery Research Project and inviting participation in her ongoing Clew Registry, which documents the minutiae of everyday lives. Through workshops, presentations, and installations, Archer will engage students, faculty, and the wider community in thought-provoking discussions about the subjective nature of historical records and the intricacies of personal legacy.

Sandy Williams IV - Freedom is Not a Metaphor

Olin Gallery

September 13–December 8

September 13, Opening Reception from 6-8

"Freedom is Not a Metaphor" by Sandy Williams IV presents a collection of works spanning photography, sculptures, research, and installations. Through personal narratives and historical contexts, the exhibition invites viewers to reconsider the construction and contestation of memory. Williams intertwines family portraits with discussions on public space, challenging conventional narratives and encouraging dialogue on agency and historical injustices. Their innovative approach, seen in works like The Time Ruler series, prompts reflection on collective memory and cultural moments.

The exhibition serves as a platform for diverse voices to engage with the complexities of public memory, advocating for reconciliation and collective healing. By highlighting struggles against oppressive systems and emphasizing liberation and justice, Williams reminds viewers of our collective strength and the potential for transformative change. "Freedom is Not a Metaphor" prompts us to confront our shared consciousness and envision a more inclusive and just society built upon a deeper understanding of our history and identity.

www.sandywilliamsiv.com

In collaboration with the Center for Studying Structures of Race, funding for this exhibition is provided by the Joanne Leonhardt Cassullo Center for Art at Roanoke College

Image Credit: The Magician, 2024, 32 x 44 inches, India ink, watercolor, and cotton thread on archival paper, (Image from the Joanne Casullo Collection at the CSSR Archive)

Johnny Floyd - Child Be Free

Upper Smoyer Gallery

September 13–December 8

September 13, Opening Reception from 6-8

Johnny Floyd’s exhibition, “Child Be Free” explores our relationship with time and how we define ourselves within its bounds. Influenced by conversations with his grandfather, a theoretical physicist, Floyd delves into questions of purpose and identity, often through the lens of recursion theory, where repetition leads to revelation.

Through experimentation with paper, sewing, and digital manipulation, Floyd intertwines archival imagery with themes of ancestry and connection. Drawing inspiration from The Center for Studying Structures of Race’s project on naming unnamed enslaved individuals who contributed to Roanoke College's history, Floyd intertwines archival African-American vernacular photography from the Maurice Berger Memorial Archive and Library with themes of ancestry and connection. By utilizing the Black experience in the United States as an analogy for the constructs of time, his art aims to deconstruct and question the necessity of these constructs, inviting viewers to contemplate their own temporal identities.

*The Maurice Berger Archive and Library is housed within The Center for Studying Structures of Race at Roanoke College

www.blackspaceprogram.com