Blitz, in collaboration with Galerie Allen, Paris, presents Now is Enough, a solo exhibition of the American pre-pop artist Corita Kent (1918 – 1986). The exhibition presents the progressive work for peace, tolerance and equality of this singular artist, never before shown in Malta. Today, Kent’s message of peaceful protest seems as important as ever. Kent was a Catholic nun, artist, educator, community leader, pop pioneer, and, no less, political activist. Particularly prolific as an artist in the 1960s, Kent’s art-as-protest put her at odds with the Archbishop of Los Angeles during this turbulent period in America’s history.
A devout child of Christ, Kent’s approach to spirituality and leadership may not have appeared traditional but was pure, direct and potent. Though God’s word and work could not be construed as at odds with peace, freedom, community and justice, her progressive outlook prompted pressure from the church and at the end of the decade she took a sabbatical that spurred some of her most impactful work. She did not return to the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
Although Kent’s political activism was deemed inappropriate by the Catholic church, her anti-war art embodied the basic Biblical teachings of ‘peace towards all’ and ‘love thy neighbour’ – albeit in a unconventional way.
Through the use of sun-drenched acid colours, flickering psychedelic motifs, advertising-rich typography, counter-culture sloganing, rock-music riffing and the words of like-minded thinkers Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Dan and Phil Berrigan and Ghandi, Kent inspired a generation of Americans and continues to elicit attention and admiration to this day.
As a nun in habit, Kent may not have fit seamlessly with the hippies of counter-culture California, but neither did she fit the mould of the church. Her powerful and singular approach set her apart as a bold and brave revolutionary of peace. Kent was an iconoclast and visionary who succeeded in making a difference.
Her work lives on, and still seems incredibly contemporary.
In 1968 Kent decided to devote herself entirely to making art. She left the Order and Los Angeles, and moved to Boston’s Back Bay. She made numerous commissioned works and continued to create her own serigraphs (over 400) in the next 18 years. Still using exuberant splashes of color, the tone of her work became more generally spiritual and introspective. Watercolor plein air paintings and great floral silk screens dominated her later works.
Kent’s works appear in the permanent collections of over 40 major museums including the National
Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.
Director of Galerie Allen Joseph Allen Shea will discuss the work of Corita Kent on April 1 at 7.30pm, followed by drinks at the Blitz bar. The exhibition is supported by the Malta Arts Fund.
Now is Enough runs between March 31 and April 28 at Blitz, St Lucia Street, Valletta.
www.thisisblitz.com