Expressing Humanity: Historical, Spiritual & Symbolic

Exhibit Dates: July 18th – September 1th, 2018

Have you ever wondered how nature is transformed to fine art? Look no further than our three innovative artists, Bernie Houston, Hubert Jackson and Ibou N’Diaye, who use wood in various ways.

Throughout our anniversary year, Zenith will feature artists who have been with us for decades, and new artists like Bernie Houston and Ibou N’Diaye. These artists reflect the Zenith culture of ingenuity, through high-quality work and strong visions that are meaningful, joyful and extremely well executed. Basically, they stand the test of time while reflecting our current society.

Bernie Houston spends his time on the Chesapeake, finding that perfect piece of driftwood for his carefully composed sculptures. Each piece is shaped by nature and inspired from its natural structure. After visualizing each driftwood piece, he cures, sands, carves, paints and polishes each creation. He sculpts everything from animals to people to objects. Because nature does not mimic itself, his entire body of work is one-of-a-kind. There is not a single piece like it on the planet.

Hubert Jackson established his career while he taught as a DC Public Schools art teacher for 34 years. Hubert creates abstract and historical works, wherein he incorporates wood and other organic and found materials on the canvas. Known for his “Spirits of the Battleground” series, Jackson collected pieces from specific Civil War sites in Virginia to integrate into his paintings. These works evoke “the spirits of those who have come and gone but remain anonymous and unaccounted for through war, slavery, poverty or the passage of time. Although they are no longer physically present, their spirits remain with us as they have become one with nature – embodied within the life forms that emerge from the earth.” Some of his recent works are based on biblical stories he remembers his father telling him as a child.

Ibou N’Diaye follows the rich tradition of Malian sculpting. Because of the uniqueness of each piece of wood, no two pieces can ever be exactly alike. He creates his artwork based off a certain aura he senses from the individual piece, determined by the grains and how it feels in his hands. N’Diaye’s pieces all conjure the harmony of the past, which he hopes to share with the world. He uses traditional hand tools to carve the wood to underscore the unity with the past as well as to make each piece feel more personal.

40 years in any business is a long time; 40 years in the Art Gallery Business is a lifetime.

Zenith Gallery has been a pillar in the D.C. art community since its inception. We attribute our success to our ability to transform with the ever-changing times. We do this by combining our longstanding commitment to inspired, unique artworks with our personalized, high quality customer service. This commitment to celebrating the creative spirit of our artists is the core value at the heart of Zenith Gallery. As Owner and celebrated artist in her own right, Goldberg is fond of saying, “With billions of people on the planet, for someone to come up with an original idea and execute it in an original way, is what has kept me in business all these years.”

In conjunction with this exhibit, the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum will be celebrating their 20th Anniversary. To commemorate, two Zenith Gallery artists’ works, Hubert Jackson’s “Spirits of the Battleground” series and pieces by Curtis Woody, will be featured in the Museum from July 18th – September 30th, 2018. On July 18, 1998, the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum opened its doors in the historic U Street neighborhood of Washington. From the beginning, the Civil War Memorial project had two objectives. One -- to correct a great wrong in history, and the second -- to contribute to the economic revitalization of the U Street Shaw community. Over the twenty-year period, we have succeeded in changing the narrative of the Civil War to include messages about the role of the USCT in ending slavery and keeping America united under one flag. Today, U Street is a diverse, economically healthy community where people live, worship, have meaningful jobs and work together.

Buy tickets to the 20th Anniversary Celebration on their website, www.afroamcivilwar.org.