Renee Stout
Renée Stout (born 1958) is an American sculptor and contemporary artist known for assemblage artworks dealing with her personal history and African-American heritage.
[4][9] She then worked as a professional sign painter, exhibiting her skill by painting convincing images of textures such as glass, plastic and cardboard.
[10] Additionally, Stout uses imaginary characters to create a variety of artwork, some of which include: painting, mixed media sculpture, photography and installation.
[12] In 2021 she was one of the jurors for The Phillips Collection's juried invitational, Inside Outside, Upside Down, a show that "forces us to remember a time that left us 'confused, battered, and disoriented' through the eyes of 64 D.C.-area artists.
"[13] Combining vestigial African American customs and street culture with the theatrical and carnivalesque, Stout's oeuvre consists of handmade assemblages, installations and tableaus, vibrant paintings, prints, and photographs – all of which are employed in the creation of complex narratives featuring characters conceived by the artist.
Her artistic influences include Yoruba sculpture, and the nkisi (sacred objects) of the Central African Congo Basin, which she first saw at the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh in her youth.
[14] In an interview conducted by Dr.O in her book Tales of the Conjure Woman, Stout says that in order to open the conversations, regarding the ancestry of African American culture, she will continue inspiring her works on themes such as African-derived spiritual belief systems and Vodou.
She also admits to having to "occupy a weird space within the art world--a place that has more possibilities, both in energy and spirit"[1] Tales of the Conjure Woman presents an artistic interpretation of Hoodoo and Voodoo that unmasks these mysterious and lasting traditions.
Channeling her alter ego, Fatima Mayfield, a fictitious herbalist and fortune-teller, looks to these cultural traditions as a jumping-off point for developing her own distinct visual language, resulting in a complex body of work that is meticulously constructed and laden with symbolism.
This exhibition of fictitious tales and courageous ingenuity offers a rare and special opportunity for viewers to explore the mythic, folk, and spiritual traditions that inform and shape Stout's complex world view and temporarily suspend disbelief"[1] Subsequently, these works became the subject of the traveling exhibition Tales of the Conjure Woman (2013-2016), originating at the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art.
