Maceo Mitchell, born in Detroit, Michigan in 1942, is largely identified by his extensive pastel paintings of various fruits and vegetables. After earning a Master of Arts from the University of Iowa in 1969, where he studied under the influential graphic artist Mauricio Lansansky, Mitchell began teaching at the Maycomb Community College (until 1976). At that time, Mitchell, who had yet to perfect his pastel technique, produced graphite pencil portraits and drawings of interior spaces. As an advocate of education, Mitchell began teaching simultaneously at the Harlem School of the Arts and the United Nations ten years later. Now considered a master of the pastel medium, Maceo Mitchell has been exhibited in the United States and Europe since the late 60s.
In occurrence with the fall of 1998 Bill Hodges Gallery solo Maceo Mitchell exhibition, Fruits n’ Vegetables showcases an expansive body of brilliant pastel still lifes done solely in 1998. Depicted are ubiquitous objects—plums, apples, cherries— enveloped by an ethereal, painterly quality, only capable of Mitchell. All fruits, inclusive of those less than perfect, are presented in a mouthwatering way and highlight the beauty of differences and imperfection.
In 25 pictures, with 24 full-color representations, indulge in the delectable fruit paintings of master pastel painter, Maceo Mitchell. Included is an exhibition history.