Fritz Massaquoi (1926-2022): In Memoriam
April 1-30, 2022
Fritz Massaquoi (1926-2022): In Memoriam
Opening reception: Friday, April 1, 5:00-9:00 PM
Gallery hours: Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday, 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM. Please note, the Emporium will be closed on Saturday, April 9 (but open on Sunday, April 10, 10 AM – 1 PM) and closed on Friday, April 15.
Featuring more than 40 works created over a 60-year span, Fritz Massaquoi (1926-2022): In Memoriam pays tribute to the long and prolific career of a West African multi-media artist who spent his last three decades in Knoxville. Fritz Hilary Massaquoi was a self-taught painter who also worked in batik, tie-dye, weaving, printmaking, and papermaking. A long time Emporium resident artist, his works have been collected and exhibited internationally. He was also active as an art teacher and inspired his students wherever he taught.
The son of West African royalty, Massaquoi relocated to the United States in 1990 due to civil war in his home country of Liberia. His colorful paintings, prints, and weavings capture vivid recollections of idyllic West African landscapes and scenes from daily life. The places, people, and events depicted often feature bold silhouettes and imagery portrayed as if through the filter of distant memory. Other works take the form of lyrical, vibrant abstractions inspired by Massaquoi’s extensive experience as a modern dancer. He built each composition intuitively, and often added bits of eggshell, aluminum foil, and other materials to his acrylic pigments in order to enhance the surface texture of his paintings. Throughout his career, Massaquoi shifted between painting village scenes and abstractions as the spirit moved him. He often opted not to sign his paintings and felt as if his brushwork served as a signature. Massaquoi rarely dated any paintings and viewed them as living creations always open to revision or embellishment. He created nearly all the works in this exhibition after his arrival in Knoxville in 1990. Most of his works are untitled since the artist viewed titles as limiting the narrative possibilities for his compositions.
Proceeds from the sale of any of Massaquoi’s paintings will go toward supporting a school he helped build in his ancestral village of N’Jabacca, Liberia.