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Charles Robert Searles"Bo Bro Bill"1969
1969
About the Item
Jim's of Lambertville Fine Art Gallery is proud to present this piece by Charles Searles (1937 - 2004).
Charles Searles was born in Philadelphia, PA and received his fine art education at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) from 1969 - 1972. He also attended the University of Pennsylvania for liberal arts studies, where he worked in the labs beside the scientists and engineers creating technical illustrations for text books. His early paintings embraced the tumultuous 1960's and also reflected his family life and surroundings.
Before graduating from PAFA, Searles received the Cresson Memorial Traveling Scholarship, and the following year, the Ware Memorial Traveling Scholarship. He was the first student to use these funds to travel to Africa. His travels in Africa marked his life and work forever -- the life, the rhythms, the patterns, and the energy.
Searles then returned to Philadelphia and began teaching at the Ile Ife Cultural Center. It was then that he began his "Dancer" Series. This series shifted his artistic style, celebrating his new sense of renewal and the African experience. He was awarded his first mural commission at the William G. Green Federal Building. This work, entitled "Celebration" is still on view today. At that time, he was also hired as a drawing teacher at the then Philadelphia College of Art, where he remained a professor for over twenty years.
In 1978, Searles moved to New York City. He found a large, raw space -- an old sewing factory -- on Broadway and Bleeker where he would remain for the rest of his life. He continued to commute to Philadelphia teaching part time. He met Kathleen Spicer, an art student, in 1983. They married in 1985. Together they shared a wonderful, open, artistic, social and creative experience.
Searles then gradually moved away from painting and into sculpture. His sculptures maintained the vibrant color and patterns from his paintings but seemed to dance in three dimensions. These new works embodied a live sense of rhythm and energy -- trademarks that he maintained throughout his career, whether in wood, bronze, or aluminum.
In his lifetime, Charles Searles participated in over 60 group shows, and 25 solo exhibitions. He was represented by the Sande Webster Gallery in Philadelphia for over 20 years. His paintings and sculptures can be found in innumerable public and private collections. Public commissions include the Delaware River Port Authority, the NYC Mass Transit Authority, the First District Plaza in Philadelphia, and the Amtrack station in Newark, NJ. He was the recipient of many awards, including ones from the Pollock - Krasner Foundation, The Adolph and Esther Gottleib Foundation, the Creative Arts Project Fellowship, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
His wife of 23 years, Kathleen Spicer adds "Charles was his work, and his work was him. Inseparable. Our lives were all about art. We lived each day as if it was a gift. To me he was enchanted. His vision was clear - he could envision something and make it come to life as easy as breathing. Genius. Charles made the world a better place. Charles speaks loud and clear."
- Creator:Charles Robert Searles (1937 - 2004, American)
- Creation Year:1969
- Dimensions:Height: 54 in (137.16 cm)Width: 31.5 in (80.01 cm)
- Medium:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Gallery Location:Lambertville, NJ
- Reference Number:
Charles Robert Searles
Inspired by the traditional art of Africa, Charles Robert Searles referenced masks, dancers and music in his kaleidoscopic paintings, sculptures, prints, public artworks and drawings. “Busy is the term that many people use when describing my paintings,” he wrote in a 1973 statement. “Busy yes, or I’d say full. Full of color, full of design, movement and people.”
Born in Philadelphia, Searles initially worked as a house painter before serving in the Army. He then studied at the University of Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before traveling to Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco and other West African countries on a Cresson Traveling Scholarship. The experience was pivotal, with the sights and sounds he witnessed influencing the buoyant colors and dynamic scenes of his paintings. After returning to Philadelphia, Searles taught at the Ile Ife Black Humanitarian Center before moving to New York, where he set up a studio.
Searles’s work was featured in the 1969 “New Black Artists” exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum. It was among the first shows to showcase Black modern artists. Searles’s work was also part of the 1971 “Contemporary Black Artists in America” at the Whitney Museum, where his painting News garnered critical acclaim. In 1974, the artist was commissioned to paint a mural in Philadelphia’s William J. Green Jr. Federal Building. The resulting piece, a vibrant panorama of dancers and drummers, merges the energy of American street festivals with Searles’s memories of Nigeria. While his later work was more abstract and often involved carved wooden elements, it was always imbued with a vivid sense of rhythm and movement.
Searles’s art has been exhibited around the world. It is in many permanent collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Woodmere Art Museum and Smithsonian American Art Museum.
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