Rufus Snoddy
Williamsburg, MI
www.snoddyart.com

Fast Food Mixed Media - 57" x 38.5" $3,500

Statement

Texture is very important. From the moment we draw our first breath, shocked by the texture of the very air that gives us life--we crave an unexpected sensory experience. That is where my work comes from: from a small boy running his hands through the cool dirt under a ramshackle porch on a scorching East Texas afternoon, delighting in "doodle-bugs." From a child so craving knowledge of a hot stove he burned the whole palm of his hand; from a young man stroking the smooth fender of his first automobile; from a father holding the soft, pulsing newness of his own child, whom he has just delivered from his wife's womb.

Texture is part of everything

I am a descendant of unknown people, plucked from the origins of a world where aesthetic expression paralleled the rituals of daily life. Forbidden their native ritual expression, my ancestors owned only the vast dark chasm of loss that separated them from their home. They built lives based on a conscious fear. Desperation and alienation, ultimately used as fuel for cunning survival strategies in a generally unfriendly "new home" called America. Thus communication, or a refusal to engage in common Eurocentric American forms of language, becomes a priority for survival and the preoccupation of African American culture. We seek other, more complete and significant forms of expression that will allow us to convey a heritage that is beyond words.

Mine is the search for origins that exist in genetic memory, which makes it nearly impossible to focus simply on surface. The search is motivated by a hunger for structural and formal content. It is an expression of faith, a supernatural vision. Through these works, I have placed my trust in the Ancestors to guide instinctual conceptual choices and material usage, which I hope will speak to you in voices without words.

Biography

Rufus Snoddy emerged from the "separate but equal" world of East Texas as an adolescent in the late 1950's. He was the tenth of twelve children born to Rufus and Catherine Snoddy, a poor but proud couple who spent their lives working menial jobs to support their large family. He came to Los Angeles at the age of eleven, after his father had been run out of Texas by his politically powerful white employer who falsely accused him of working for the NAACP.

Coming from the wide open fields and prairies of rural Texas to the congestion of Los Angeles at such a tender age gave root to an appreciation for dichotomy which is still apparent in Snoddy's work. Rolling green hills peacefully revealing their nearly human forms under ominously darkening skies sporadically appearing laced within heavily textured surfaces.

"Texture is very important to me," Snoddy remarks on his work. "I can't seem to make my work lay down. It isn't in me to create things without texture."

The texture of Snoddy's work in many ways reflects the texture of his history. He calls his works "construction paintings". They are sculpted works that could most accurately be described as "hanging out" from a wall rather than simply hanging on it.

As a young man growing up in Los Angeles, Rufus lived in a world peopled by colorful characters experiencing tragedy as a matter of course. Trying to navigate social issues brought on by urban angst present in such a sprawling, divisive and sometimes violent environment often proved a daunting task. A desire to explore other life experiences led Rufus to connect with a group of people interested in sailing and other forms of boating where he traveled throughout the world for many years. During this time he embarked upon a series of works dealing with this period of his life as well as other social and cultural issues of the past.

Treating these issues and others that make reference to genetic memory texturally, many of Rufus' pieces show semi-human figures, partial bodies and orifices spilling conglomerate material almost aggressively "at" the viewer. Jagged edges, smooth surfaces, harvested natural materials, throw away and fabricated objects painted in resplendent but subdued color represent the search for meaning and the matter-of-fact tragedy that is life for many people trying to survive in the inner cities and other places in our world today.

Sometimes Snoddy utilizes movement, sound and light to lend animation. Language is often incorporated into his work, but always cryptically, requiring the reader/viewer to take note of the entire piece. Once the message is decoded, the impression it leaves gives new and lasting meaning to the layers of form that surrounds.

Rufus was the first of his family to attend college, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Design from California State University at Los Angeles in 1973 and a Masters of Arts degree in Sculpture in 1976.

Today he continues to find new means of expression. His work has been shown in New York, Philadelphia, Santa Fe, Paris, Michigan, and several galleries and museums in California. He lives and works in Williamsburg, Michigan with his wife and two children.

Exhibitions

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2005 Diaspora Contemporary Art Gallery	Williamsburg, Michigan
2001 San Jacinto College Gallery	San Jacinto, California
2000 L.A. Artcore Center for the Arts	Los Angeles, California
1998 Van de Griff Gallery	Santa Fe, New Mexico
1998 ArtBank-LA Artcore	Los Angeles, California
1997 Roarke’s	Los Angeles, California
1996 LA Artcore Gallery	Los Angeles, California
1995 Galerie Christine Colas	Paris, France
1994 LA Artcore Gallery	Los Angeles, California
1993 b.b. la femme Gallery	San Diego, California
1991 LA Artcore Gallery	Los Angeles, California
1990 L'Ultima Gallery	Santa Monica, California
1989 LA Artcore Gallery	Los Angeles, California
1987 Vorpal Gallery	New York, New York
1987 Viridian Gallery	New York, New York
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2005 Group Exhibit	Evans - Forney Fine Art Traverse City, Michigan
2005 The Shields Of Rufus Snoddy	Sande Webster Gallery Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2004 Fade (1990-2003) A Survey Exhibition	Harriet & Charles Luckman Fine Arts Complex Los Angeles, California
2004 Outer Limits	Old Arts Building Leland, Michigan
2003 Shields, Totems & Masks, in an Industrial Age	Belstone Gallery Traverse City, Michigan
2002 Group Exhibit	Gallery 544 Traverse City, Michigan
2002 Relics. . . and other scenarios	Eye-Five @ the Brewery Gallery Los Angeles, California
2001 Skin / Veneer - hiding / holding	Angels Gate Cultural Center Gallery San Pedro, California
2001 Pixx	Watts Towers Art Center Los Angeles, California
2000 The Right to Assemble	Cal State University Fine Art Gallery Los Angeles, California
1999 Contemplating the Millennium	Mt. San Jacinto College San Jacinto, California
1998 Cross Cultures	LewAllen Contemporary Santa Fe, New Mexico
1998 Group Exhibit	King’s Art Center Hanford, California
1997 Windows	van de Griff Gallery Santa Fe, New Mexico
1997 Hodge Podge	Spanish Kitchen Los Angeles, California
1996 Rainforest Action Network, Annual Art Auction	Studio of Laddie John Dill Venice, California
1996 Green	Factory Place Gallery Los Angeles, California
1995 The Pulse of L.A.	El Pueblo Gallery at Olvera Street Los Angeles, California
1994 Angels, Ancestors & Spirit Guides	Mythos Gallery Burbank, California
1994 Group Exhibit	Galerie Christine Colas Paris, France
1994 Rencontre	Centre Culturel Coreen Paris, France
1994 Group Exhibit	Solomon Dubnick Gallery Sacramento, California
1994 Middlebrook and Snoddy	L.A. City College, Da Vinci Gallery Los Angeles, California
1994 Inaugural Show	LA Artcore Center for the Arts Gallery Los Angeles, California
1993 "Myther" The Leda Exhibition	Nova Space Culver City, California
1993 So. California Gas Company Exhibition	Southern California Gas Co. Los Angeles, California
1993 Functional Art	LA Artcore Annex Los Angeles, California
1992 "Energy"	South Bay Contemporary Art Gallery Torrance, California
1991 Group Exhibit	Mendenhal Gallery, Whittier College Whittier, California
1991 Lost and Found	Finegood Art Gallery West Hills, California
1990 The Santa Exhibition	b.b. la femme Gallery San Diego, California
1990 Emerging Artists, New Expressions	California African American Museum Los Angeles, California
1990 Group Exhibit	Wade Gallery Los Angeles, California
1989 Ray Jacob and Rufus Snoddy	LA Artcore Gallery Los Angeles, California
1987 Group Exhibit	Vorpal Gallery New York, New York
1987 Group Exhibit	Viridian Gallery New York, New York
1986 Group Exhibit	L.A. Art Gallery New York, New York
1979 Exploratorium Gallery Exhibition	California State University Los Angeles, California
1976 Annual Small Images Exhibition	California State University Los Angeles, California
SELECTED LIST OF PRIVATE AND CORPORATE COLLECTIONS
American Savings and Loan	Los Angeles, California
Mr. and Mrs. Donald and Barbara Bernard	Chino, California
Mr. and Mrs. Kay and Andy Black	San Francisco, California
Mr. Joseph Campbell	Whittier, California
Chase Manhattan Bank	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Mme. Christine Colas	Paris, France
Mr. Bruce Gordon	New York, New York
Mr. Mark Greenfield	Los Angeles, California
Harley Davidson of California	Harbor City, California
Mr. Earl Hirahara	Los Angeles, California
Ms. Jeanne James	Reno, Nevada
Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd and Cecile Jones	Gardena, California
Kaufman and Broad Developers	Los Angeles, California
Ms. Kathy Look	Traverse City, Michigan
The Estate of Phillip Melito	Agoura Hills, California
Nobu Matsuhisa	Beverly Hills, California
Mr. Kenneth Arthur Nelson	West Hollywood, California
Dr. Alan Pachtman	Santa Monica, California
Charles Pankow	Los Angeles, California
David and Joyce Petrokovitz	Cadillac, Michigan
Julie Pierson	Traverse City, Michigan
Mr. and Mrs. Jan and Paul Plotkin	Mar Vista, California
Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Sims	Los Angeles, California
Dr. Maria Swan	Beverly Hills, California
Lydia Takeshita	La Crescenta, California
Mr. and Mrs. Lamonte Westmoreland	Altadena, California
Ms. Barbara Wurden	Long Beach, California

 

Tributaries Contemporary Gallery
2134 South Main St. - Central Lake, MI
(one block south of downtown on M-88)