OXIDIZED PAINTINGS ON WOOD & SCULPTURE

Painter and installation artist Willie Little draws upon his background of growing up black in the rural South as inspiration for his art. His works range from abstract paintings to mixed media assemblages, incorporating family history and photographs to full-scale installations recreating memories from the artist’s childhood. Such artistry garnered Little a grant from the North Carolina Arts and Science Council which he used to develop a prodigious and unusual abstract painting technique. He employs iron dust and acid oxidation as well as paints in his latest series of works. While abstract, these gorgeous paintings evoke the life of the southern tenant farmer living in shanties with their peeling, faded paint and rusted tin roofs.