June Edmonds’ large-scale paintings explore color, repetition, movement, and balance as well as her connection to her African-American roots. Edmonds’ works fit squarely within the western tradition of abstract art, yet her style is distinctive. June Edmonds: Rhythmic Inquisitions includes works from her signature Energy Wheel Paintings series inspired by her meditation practice, as well as more recent abstract compositions featuring interlocking forms. Her evocative paintings, and drawings make visible the artist’s spiritual journey and explore the alignment of multiple identities such as race, nationality, gender, or political leanings.
Artist Bio:
June Edmonds was born 1959 in Los Angeles, where she lives and works. Edmonds received her MFA from Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia, and a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University. Earlier this year Edmonds was awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship in Fine Arts by the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those “who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts.”
Among the many prizes and residencies, Edmonds has attended Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and is the recipient of the inaugural 2020 AWARE Prize, presented by the French non-profit Archive of Women Artists Research and Exhibitions; a 2018 City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Grant (COLA) and Exhibition at the Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery; a California Arts Council Individual Artist Grant; Helene Wurlitzer Foundation artist residency in Taos, NM; and Dorland Mountain Community artist residency in Temecula, CA.
Edmonds has completed several works of public art with the city of Los Angeles and the Department of Cultural Affairs, including an installation at the MTA Pacific Station in Long Beach, CA. Her paintings are held in collections throughout the United States including the California African American Museum, Los Angeles; Mead Art Museum, Amhurst College, Amhurst, MA; Davis Museum, Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA; Michael Rubel Collection, Los Angeles, CA among others.
About Guest Curator Lisa Henry:
Lisa Henry is an independent curator based in Riverside, California. Henry has been a guest curator for institutions on both the east and west coasts including The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, The California African American Museum, and The MAK Center for Architecture. Henry has also worked with Riverside Art Museum on several projects including the 2020 exhibitions, Brenna Youngblood: Lavender Rainbow and Sheila Pree Bright #1960Now.
Related Programming:
Blacklandia Events Series and the Riverside Art Museum Present June Edmonds and the Legacy of American Abstract Painting with art historian Richard Allen May III and curator Lisa Henry
View more at Riverside Art Museum
