Disney-Britton

THE NEW YORK TIMES Kehinde Wiley at his exhibition “An Archaeology of Silence” at the de Young Museum in San Francisco in 2023. Other museums have put plans for the show on hold. Credit: Ian C. Bates for The New York Times The Minneapolis Institute of Art announced Thursday that it had decided not to move forward with a planned Kehinde Wiley exhibition, citing recent allegations of sexual misconduct against the artist, which he has denied. The exhibition, called “ An Archaeology of Silence ,” originated at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and has been traveling around the country. [ Source ]

By Ernest Disney-Britton Our living room in downtown Indianapolis This house (in Indiana) allowed us to explore everything, but today is moving day! It was a maximalist experience for two minimalists who love to collect. We sold off multiple collections, including snow globes, Mary sculptures, paperweights, Disney plates, nutcrackers, 21c penguins, walking canes, and 100 prints and paintings! Most of it was in storage, but plenty was on display. We did it by inviting our community of artists and collectors to an estate sale before opening it to the public. Congratulations to the new owners. We hope your collections continue to grow. Goodbye, Indiana!

By Ernest Disney-Britton "Untitled" (2014) by Michael Ross We acquired only one work in 2023, a housewarming gift from a new Key West-based artist, Michael Ross. His visually pleasing work frequently features abstracted, anthropomorphic houses like the one he gifted us. Over the past three decades, Michael has worked with this iconography to investigate a shared and individual site of emotional refuge, memory, and the black male figure. The work of Draftsman  John Biggers and the photographer  Rotimi Fani-Kayode also influence his work.

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton "Edge of the City" (2009) by Michael Cook Two Jesus-art works stand out among the 13 acquisitions made in 2022 (versus three in 2021 ). They are  Michael Cook's "Edge of the City," a contemporary depiction of the two thieves crucified with Christ, and  Kehinde Wiley's "Death of Saint Joseph," foster father of Jesus, printed onto a basketball. The final religious-themed work was Jay Parnell's “St. Josephine Bakhita of Sudan, Spe Salvi.”

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Ernest Disney-Britton We purchased one painting the year my mother died. The previous year, we acquired 12 works . The purchased work, “The Key” by Raul Arturo Diaz was acquired a month after mom’s funeral. I needed something to reduce the pain. It didn’t help. There were two other acquisitions that were not purchased in 2021. We are grateful to our dear friend Rishard Allen for the gift print of "The Last Supper" by Atlanta artist  Jalen Amir . Another was a 2020 commission completed in 2021, "Tru: The Bond Stands for All Things" by UK artist  Michael Cook . Mom, Verneida Britton, died on Palm Sunday, March 28, surrounded by family. 

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton 2021 Photo: " Art Climb " at Cincinnati Art Museum on August 7, 2021. Photo by Renee (Britton) Johnson of Michael Johnson, Ernest Disney-Britton, Gregory Disney-Britton, and Tambra Smoot climbing to the top. After 13 years, this is our last blog post for Alpha Omega Arts ( 2008 -2021). We are grateful for your fellowship, but it’s time. For what? God knows. What we do know is that a year ago, we celebrated mom’s 82nd birthday, with her, by racing up the nine-story Art Climb at the Cincinnati Art Museum. Today, in her memory, we did it again. In Verneida’s final months, she pushed us to stop “pretending” and to actually go start a new climb. To let go and climb with God. Amen

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS By Gregory & Ernest Disney-Britton Recent photo of Verneida Britton in her living room surrounded by a few of the works she has collected by regional and international artists including her favorite,  Aminah Robinson . Educator, collector, and skydiver, Verneida I. Britton , 82, of Cincinnati, passed away on March 28, 2021, after a six-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Due to COVID-19 safety restrictions, a private family service will be held at Spring Grove Cemetery on April 10, but it will be streamed live. Additionally, the  National Underground Railroad Freedom Center will hold a private memorial service for docents, with Aminah Robinson 's "RagGonNons" as the backdrop, in recognition of her service as a docent. The family requests that memorial gifts be made by  purchasing a Freedom Center membership.