Image featured: © Wendel White, Ambrotype of Frederick Douglass, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Washington, DC. Pigment Inkjet Print on Paper. Image courtesy of the artist.

(GLASSBORO, NJ) -- Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum is excited to announce Folding Time, a solo exhibition of Wendel White's photographic works. The exhibition will open on September 3 and be on view through October 26, 2024. White is a distinguished photographer known for focusing on Black history and the legacy of slavery through his foundational projects: Schools for the Colored, Red Summer, and Manifest.

The exhibition Folding Time will display a selection of photographs from each series. Through these bodies of work, White is effectively folding time by bringing the past and the present into a shared space.

White’s series Manifest explores Black material culture across public collections in the original thirteen English colonies and Washington, DC, showcasing artifacts that range from receipts for human purchases to everyday items, illuminating the historical narrative of the Black community in America. Schools for the Colored documents segregation with historic African American school buildings, particularly in the northern “Up-South” states. The digital imaging technique that obscures the landscape surrounding the schools, and in some cases, the schools themselves, is a visual representation of the W.E.B. DuBois literary metaphor of the “veil” as a social barrier. Red Summer delves into locations where racial violence erupted between 1917 and 1923, combining contemporary landscapes with fragments of historical newspaper reporting to bridge past and present perspectives.

There will be an opening reception and artist talk on September 12, from 5:00pm-7:00pm. The artist's talk begins at 5:30pm.

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Wendel White holds a BFA from the School of Visual Arts and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as a Distinguished Professor of Art & American Studies at Stockton University and has received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship; an honorary Doctor of Arts at Oakland University; a Robert Gardner Fellow in Photography, Peabody Museum, Harvard University; and multiple artist fellowships from the New Jersey State Council for the Arts. His work has been exhibited widely and is housed in prestigious collections and institutions worldwide.

Rowan University Art Gallery & Museum is located at 301 High Street W in Glassboro, New Jersey. It serves as a vibrant cultural destination for South Jersey, the Rowan community, and the surrounding region. We are committed to cultivating an inclusive, accessible, and just environment that encourages dialogue and collaboration between exhibiting artists, students, faculty, the general public, and other cultural institutions through the presentation of interdisciplinary art exhibitions, artist talks, and other public programming. We present diverse forms of contemporary art by professional artists with content that is thought-provoking, relevant, and timely. Our mission is to engender curiosity and a passion for contemporary art, enrich the quality of life for area residents, create a welcoming and inclusive cultural destination at Rowan University, and function as a resource for contemporary art throughout the region. Gallery Hours are Monday - Friday, 10:00am - 5:00pm; Saturday, 11:00am - 5:00pm.