Multimedia artist Sam Middleton pioneered a vibrant visual expression of music and rhythm through his abstract collage-based works, each one pulsating with color and texture.
He also lived a life immersed in the richest art cultures of the 20th century, first in New York’s Harlem and deeply influenced by jazz, then emigrating to the Netherlands in the 1960s.
Middleton’s rare perspective and visual language are celebrated in a new exhibition at Hammonds House Museum, titled “Rhythm of Resilience: the Artistry of Sam Middleton,” on view now through August 18.
Hammonds House artistic chair and curator Halima Taha joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share more about the new exhibition on display.
According to Taha, “The particularly unique thing about Middleton is that he actually was able to make a living just selling his art with consistency. It really is a reflection of the way in which he had a certain freedom in Europe. It’s not to say that there weren’t cultural biases, it’s just that the the way in which [people of color were] able to move in Europe is a bit different because of Europe’s colonial history and that many of the people that they colonized ultimately would end up living in Europe. But the history is distinctly different.”
