PERFORMANCE: Gordon Skinner / Bridgeport, CT

SOCIETY FUCT

Saturday, March 7, 2015, 6:30-8:30pm

CITY LIGHTS GALLERY

37 Markle Court

Bridgeport, CT

Gordon Skinner's first Performance Art piece SOCIETY FUCT is a unique work inspired by a zine he created of the same title and made in collaboration with award winning poets Tenisi Davis and Attallah Sheppard. The result is a powerful unapologetic interpretation of visual art that combines the elements of poetry, theater and social commentary as one body of work.  

Bob Albert, a representative for Skinner states,  “This is not something you want to miss and is something that truly has to be experienced to gain a grasp of the concept. Gordon is in a very interesting space creatively.  He's been exploring processes outside of what he's done previously while still maintaining the integrity of his artistic hand. I would say many of his newer pieces are more conceptual in nature, experimenting with unconventional materials and even working in three dimensional space. You don't want to miss this part of his evolution as an artist, a work that has been cultivated over several months and an extension of his practice in a different form in collaboration with other artists.”

SOCIETY FUCT will be performed ONE TIME ONLY.

Zines and audio art pieces with original collages inspired by the performance will be available for purchase.  

GENESIS: Gordon Skinner / April 1, 1977

Gordon Skinner. Image via raggsnewhaven.tumblr.com.

BlackArtistNews  | April 1, 2014

Like untreated scabs infected with anger and frustration, Gordon Skinner’s rough-hewed paintings are a plangent cry for the need to heal the wounds of the social and economically injured. His defiant aesthetic is a hard reminder that the world ain’t a pretty picture; it can be vulgar and crude and wrong. Fortunately, there is a silver lining: the undeniable truth that the will of an artist is to create understanding and clearly (as the embedded video below illustrates) Skinner’s practice is not so much about the struggle to exist, but a way to transcend the pain and suffering that comes with living.

YouTube: Stolen I.D.: Fragmented,Colonized and Lost – Documentary with painter Gordon Skinner

Gordon Skinner on tumblr.

Gordon Skinner on Facebook.

NEW HAVEN: Gordon Skinner and Coco & Breezy

Gordon Skinner, A Portrait of William Pope.L, the Friendliest Black Artist in America, mixed media on paper, date and dimensions unknown. Courtesy of Gordon Skinner Gallery. © Gordon Skinner.

Art and Soul

February 1 – March 1, 2014

Opening reception: Saturday, February 1, 2014, 3:00 – 6:00PM

GORDON SKINNER GALLERY

Erector Square

315 Peck Street, Building 5

New Haven, CT

The Gordon Skinner Gallery is pleased to present its latest exhibition Art and Soul. The exhibition features work by Gordon Skinner along with fashion designers and artists Coco & Breezy. Yale University radio station 94.3 WYBC will broadcast live from the gallery during the reception on February 1, 2014.

New and never before seen paintings and works on paper by Skinner includes a portrait series of artists and gallerists inspired by Garbage Pail Kids, a series of  trading cards produced in the 1980’s. Prints and fine art buttons by Skinner will also be for sale at the exhibition.

Also on view are original paintings by twin sisters Corianna and Brianna Dotson, founders and creators of the fashion accessory company Coco & Breezy. The eyewear brand has been sported by celebrity icons Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Serena Williams and featured in Glamour, GQ, Cosmopolitan, InStyle, Teen Vogue, WWD and New York magazines. The Brooklyn-based duo recently launched a line of sweatshirts bearing reproductions of their paintings. Coco & Breezy eyewear and sweatshirts will also be for sale at the exhibition.

The opening reception is also sponsored by the menswear clothing store Raggs. The downtown New Haven retailer will raffle off a $50 gift card – good toward any purchase in their store – to attendees at the reception opening.

COVER: Gordon Skinner / Dogwood Journal / Volume 12: 2013

Gordon Skinner's painting Jesus Piece - Self Portrait at 27 is the cover art selection for the 12^th issue of Dogwood: A Journal of Poetry and Prose. The issue will be available April 18th and a community launch event will take place at the Fairfield University Bookstore which will host a reading by area writers and an artist talk by Skinner. 

Read Gordon Skinner Dogwood feature here

LISTEN UP: Gordon Skinner Speaks Art at Yale University

Gordon Skinner, Jesus Piece (Self-Portrait at 27)

Artist closes out solo exhibit Hard Works with discussion   

Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 7 - 9pm

AFRO-AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER AT YALE UNIVERSITY

211 Park Street

New Haven, CT

Gordon Skinner will give an artist talk on the works included in his exhibit Hard Works on view at the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale University. The event will be moderated by artists and current Yale MFA students Mario Moore and Wesley Chavez and is preceded by the screening of a short documentary about Skinner.

Skinner’s work is reminiscent of a tradition and movement known as "The Blues Impulse.” This tradition includes a long list of artists practicing in various mediums who have transformed their extenuating circumstances and hardships into extraordinary levels of visual content and artistic expression.  

Hard Works touches on the work ethic required of artist's to create a body of quality work, which in Skinner’s case, means working three jobs while simultaneously carving out time to paint. The result is not only an honest expression of an artist painting the world as he sees it, but also meant to inspire others to work hard in pursuit of their personal passions.

Skinner has been featured as a guest on television programs CT Style and Better CT, featured articles by Hearst Publication and The New Haven Independent, having his work featured in The New York Times as well as being the subject of a final thesis paper for a Yale student. His work has been exhibited in contemporary art galleries in Connecticut as well as NYC’s annual Outsider Art Fair in Times Square. In addition to being the subject of a documentary by Take Notice Productions about his art, his paintings were also featured in a magazine photo shoot with celebrity fashion designers Coco and Breezy. 

YouTube: Stolen I.D.: Fragmented, Colonized and Lost - Documentary with painter Gordon Skinner