Romare Bearden: a Black Odyssey

American modernist Romare Bearden (1911–1988) is best known for vibrant, richly textured collages that depict the country‑ and cityscapes of black America. Working in the tradition of jazz improvisers, Bearden regularly quotes and reshapes a broad spectrum of visual and literary art. This exhibition explores his responses to the 8th century BCE epics by the Greek poet Homer through paintings, drawings, and collages. At the center of the exhibition, the collages retell Homer’s Odyssey in vividly colored, knife‑edged paper cutouts. But Bearden does not merely illustrate Homer—he is Homer’s true collaborator. He works with and against the earlier master, translating the ancient stories through a 20th- century visual voice to show their relevance to contemporary concerns. Most strikingly, Bearden has made his Odyssean characters black, raising the issue of race and racism, which Bearden confronted throughout his life. Here, he invites us to consider: If the The Odyssey is truly universal, then can’t Homer's heroes, villains, monsters and saviors also be black? Although Homer’s Odyssey dates back nearly three thousand years, his wandering king Odysseus may be regarded as the first modern hero. A noble warrior who can be greedy or vain, a loyal husband who gets waylaid by a nymph’s charm, he is all too human. Who is Odysseus, whose name translates as “Trouble” and who tells the Cyclops he is called “Nobody”? Romare Bearden depicts Odysseus’s mythic journey as a quest for identity; getting home is a metaphor for self‑realization. As equally important as getting home is feeling at home wherever we may be; these goals present significant challenges in our world of constant change and crisis. Like Odysseus, we are all travellers through uncertain seas, all striving to maintain our families and ourselves as we seek pathways home.

Romare Bearden: A Black Odyssey is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service in cooperation with the Romare Bearden Foundation and Estate and DC Moore Gallery. The exhibition and its related educational resources are supported by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.