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MARVIN TATE

Finding Space Within Place

 

February 21 to March 14, 2021

"As a self-taught artist, I’ve always found inspiration through my daily surroundings. The techniques I use are intuitive. I’ve always had a kinship for folksy aesthetics, outsiders and although frowned upon in my working-class upbringing; individualism. My art is personal and sometimes whimsical, but my emotions are universal. I create what I cannot verbally commit to, a truism that is always in motion. I give voice to complex issues by using familiarity, such as punch holes from junk mail, cardboard shoe inserts from a former employee or paper bag handles from the grocer to express a longing for community."

- Marvin Tate

Born in Chicago on December 27, 1959, artist Marvin Tate is known for his biographical art in the form of assemblage, dioramas, portraits and landscapes composed of found objects and fragments from everyday life. A North Lawndale native, Tate grew up in a home without a TV or radio, where his family entertained one another with songbooks and reading aloud. Tate remembers hours spent exploring abandoned buildings, walking the streets of changing neighborhoods and playing in his mother’s closet, all existential journeys filled with fear, excitement and materials that would later inform his work.

 

Tate's work is rooted in folklore, the culture of storefront churches, a distant train or a bevy of geese flying over North Lawndale. Finding beauty and subtlety in everyday life, objects and people is inherent in his narrative, which speaks of personal and family history while addressing a broader collective memory through social and political commentary. 

"Finding Spaces within Place” presents  a collection of artworks created during the midst and onslaught of Covid-19, with the exception of Sunday Goth (2020). Although every piece has its own origin of inspiration, they are connected by the dire circumstances that defined them: quarantine and unpredictability. This exhibition immortalizes Tate's observations in that moment, be they real or imagined.

Marvin Tate

Black Girl Magic, 2021

Found Objects on Wood

Triptych / 3 panels of 14x24 inches 

$2,000

Marvin Tate_The Truth in Layers_2021_24x

Marvin Tate

The Truth in Layers, 2021

Cotton Balls, Cork, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Found Objects on Wood

24x48 inches

$2,200

Wishing You Were Here_14x22.jpg

Marvin Tate

Wishing You Were Here, 2021

Found Objects, Piano Keys, Spray Paint, Acrylic, Wood / 14x22 inches / $1,200

MarvinTate_Misty_18x24_Acrylic_Spraypain

Marvin Tate

Misty, 2021

Acrylic, Spray Paint, Found Objects, Wood on Cardboard

18x24 inches

$1,800

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Marvin Tate

First Flight, 2021

Cotton Balls, Wood, Found Objects, Spray Paint, Acrylic on Wood / 24x24 inches / $1,000

Backyard Serenade_2021_10x10jpg.jpg
Backyard Serenade2.jpg

Marvin Tate

Backyard Serenade, 2021

Wood, Frame, Piano Key, Spray Paint, Acrylic

10x10 inches

$850

Traffic Light_24x48inches.jpg

Marvin Tate

Traffic Light, 2021

Found Objects on Wood / 24x48 inches / $1,000

©2022 HANA PIETRI LLC.

 

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