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Lafate Uses Painting To Turn Experiences Into Positive Action
And with the election of President Obama, La Fate is now seeing some of her visionary artwork become a tangible reality. “The themes of diversity in my artwork that I have been working on for more than a quarter of a century are now relevant to the political era we are in today,” La Fate said, adding confidently. “I’m becoming famous.” Her 1997 piece “The Melting Pot vs. The Salad Bowl” is part of the permanent collection of the William Jefferson Presidential Clinton Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. The painting portrays a salad bowl filled with people of many backgrounds beautifully coloring the bowl. The melting pot sits on the stove with every color melted into a mess of lifeless gray. To make sure that everyone can afford a lithograph print of “The Melting Pot vs. The Salad Bowl”, she has lowered the price from $150 to $50 dollars each. “I want my artwork to be affordable for everyone,” La Fate said. La Fate has been concerned with diversity issues her entire professional life. Currently, she works full- time as an educator for Job Corps Training Center, as a career preparation instructor, teaching at promise students the social skills needed for success in the workplace. She also spends many hours volunteering in her Wilmington community for the Stop the Violence Coalition, teaching art to at promise youth. “Kids who hold a paintbrush, drawing pen or drumstick are much less likely to hold a gun,” La Fate added. Her more traditional pieces present expansive Caribbean and American landscapes as well as bursts of tropical foliage, resplendent sunrises, and radiant sunsets. The uniqueness of her approach is in her ability to portray the grace of the land, the power of a blossom, or the boldness of the sun through the combination of naked color and pure form. Her descriptive brushstrokes add a compelling immediacy to the work. It is her series “Visions in Diversity” that she believes to be most relevant to today’s political climate, she writes in her biography. “The pieces in this series reflect a world where diversity reigns. . . a peaceful place in which women and children often carry the banner and reach for the dream of racial harmony. “ La Fate’s paintings are also part of the Dover Folk Life Collection
in Dover, Delaware. She has been in more than twenty-five juried, one-person,
and group shows and she has received numerous awards for her work. In
2009, La Fate is also offering the Wilmington Community the opportunity
to borrow her artwork and display it in their businesses for an agreed-on
length of time. Contact La Fate at arteun@aol.com
or by calling 302-230-2560. Visit online
at www.lafategallery.com |
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La
Fate said in an interview with Delawareblack.com this week. Inspired by
the folk art of Grandma Moses and the self-taught artist Bill Traylor,
La Fate has spent the last twenty-five years creating passionate works
of art depicting a better day when people from all walks of life would
come together and “be given the opportunity to grow and develop
based on their abilities rather than their color.” 