Independent 20th Century
Richard Mayhew & Joseph Elmer Yoakum

Stand F1
September 8 – 11, 2022

Battery Maritime Building
Cipriani South Street
10 South Street
New York, NY 10004
 

(New York, NY) – For the inaugural edition of Independent 20th Century, Venus Over Manhattan will present an exhibition pairing the work of Joseph Elmer Yoakum (1891-1972) and Richard Mayhew (b. 1924). Organized to follow “Joseph E. Yoakum: What I Saw,” the recent unprecedented retrospective of Yoakum’s work at Art Institute of Chicago (which traveled to The Museum of Modern Art, NY, and the Menil Collection in Houston), Venus’ presentation considers reverberations between the visions and aesthetics of two American artists whose practices have relied upon impressionistic landscapes, both real and imagined. Both artists of African American and Native American descent, Yoakum and Mayhew devised unique and instantly recognizable approaches to rendering geographic vistas. By juxtaposing exceptional examples of their respective oeuvres, the presentation at Independent draws out connections and stylistic distinctions between these foremost chroniclers of the American landscape.
 

ABOUT JOSEPH ELMER YOAKUM

Joseph Elmer Yoakum was, according to official record, born in Ash Grove, Missouri, in 1890. His work has been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; the Menil Collection, Houston; The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago, Chicago; Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, Chicago; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. Yoakum’s work is frequently featured in major group exhibitions, including recent presentations at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia. His work is held numerous public collections, including the Art Institute of Chicago; The Menil Collection, Houston; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Joseph Elmer Yoakum lived and worked in Chicago until his death in 1972.

ABOUT RICHARD MAYHEW

Richard Mayhew was born in 1924 in Amityville, New York. Mayhew studied at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art, Pratt Institute, and Columbia University. Mayhew’s work has been the subject of numerous solo presentations, including recent exhibitions at the Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington; SFMOMA, San Francisco; ACA Galleries, New York; Ringling College Galleries, Sarasota; Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco; The Museum of Art & History @ the McPherson Center, Santa Cruz; and the de Saisset Museum, Santa Clara. His work features frequently in group exhibitions both stateside and abroad, including recent presentations at the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers; David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles; and the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York. Mayhew’s work is held in the permanent collections of many public institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, New York; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers; the RISD Museum, Providence; the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; the Studio Museum in Harlem, New York; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

For additional information about the presentation, please contact the gallery at info@venusovermanhattan.com