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Wednesday 12pm - 5pm Thursday 12pm - 5pm Friday 12pm - 5pm Saturday 12pm - 5pm

alma_lewis_pgh, 6901 Lynn Way, Suite 206, Pittsburgh, PA (2026)

03/30/2023

Naomi Ruth Sims (1948 - 2009) was born on March 30, 1948 in Oxford, MS. She grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and graduated a year early from Westinghouse High School to move to New York City. In 1967, she landed on the cover of The New York Times, Fashions of the Times — the first for a Black model — and launched her career as a highly regarded fashion model.
As a dark-skinned model, Sims led the way of many magazine cover “firsts” and opened doors for future Black models including Beverly Johnson, Iman, Naomi Campbell, and Tyra Banks.
She was an author of four published books about health, beauty, and entrepreneurship (another first for all fashion models regardless of color); owned successful cosmetic and wig companies; supported many organizations especially with a focus to uplift the lives of Black youth through arts, education, and wellness programs.

1. Naomi Sims on the cover of Life, October 17, 1969

2. Naomi Sims on the cover of The New York Times, Fashions of the Times, August 27, 1967

3. Naomi Sims models a floral spring dress at a Jon Haggins outdoor fashion show circa 1968.

4. Four books written by Naomi Sims between 1975 - 1986.

5. Naomi Sims attends a NEED (organization that supports college scholarships for Black youth) banquet in May 1974. Photo by Charles “Teenie” Harris

6. A picture of a joyous Naomi on the dance floor wearing black leather short shorts and top accented with two fresh flowers, circa 1969.

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03/28/2023

“Reclaiming Echoes: A Reflection of African Culture and Legacy,” the first solo exhibition of photography and multimedia work by Abdul Aziz, on view from March 30 - July 22, 2023.

Join us for the opening reception and artist talk on Thursday, April 6, 2023 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

"In ‘Reclaiming Echoes,’ I hope to provoke reflection and encourage viewers to explore their connections to the African diaspora. The exhibition aims to promote understanding, empathy, and a deeper appreciation of the rich cultural heritage that continues to shape the lives of people of African descent, both in Africa and worldwide.” - Artist statement

Image 2: Portrait of Artist Abdul Aziz, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 3: Abdul Aziz, Welcome To Africatown, 2021.
Image 4: Family Photo, Courtesy of the Artist.

03/17/2023

Important update: 📢 The opening date of the "Reclaiming Echoes: A Reflection of African Culture and Legacy" exhibition by Abdul Aziz has been rescheduled to March 30th, 2023. Join us for the opening reception and artist talk on Thursday, April 6, 2023 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. RSVP on our website, link in bio.

The exhibition showcases Aziz's powerful perspective on the rich and diverse cultural heritage of Africatown and the African Universal Church, celebrating the strength, resilience, and vitality of the African Diaspora through his photographs and mixed media works. We look forward to welcoming you to the exhibition on its new opening date, March 30th, 2023, at ALMA|LEWIS. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you there.

Learn more about “Reclaiming Echoes” and Abdul Aziz on our website, linked in our bio.

Image 1: Laura Adorkor Kofi, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 2: Abdul Aziz, Founders of Union Baptist Church, Africatown, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 3: Little Africa, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 4: Little Africa, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 5: Exhibition’s Graphic

03/15/2023

Richmond Barthé (1901-1989) was an African American sculptor known for his depictions of the black male body and his exploration of race and sexuality in his art. Barthé was born in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. He moved to Chicago in the 1920s to study at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he was influenced by the work of European and American modernists.

Barthé's work was notable for its celebration of the black male body, which was often overlooked in mainstream representations of African Americans. He often depicted athletes and jazz musicians, and he gained recognition in the 1930s for his ability to capture the power and energy of the male form. His work also explored themes of black identity and the African diaspora, as well as sexuality and homoeroticism, which was unusual for the time. In the 1940s, Barthé moved to New York City and became part of the Harlem Renaissance. He continued to create figurative sculptures, including a series of black angels, and received commissions for public art projects, such as the monument to Toussaint L'Ouverture in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Despite his success, Barthé faced racism and discrimination throughout his life, and struggled with depression and alcoholism. He eventually withdrew from the art world and moved to Jamaica, where he lived in isolation until his death in 1989. Today, his work is considered an important contribution to the development of African American art and modernist sculpture.

Image 1: Richmond Barthé, Harmon Foundation Collection/National Archives, Washington, D.C.
Image 2: Richmond Barthé, Feral Benga, cast bronze, with dark brown patina, modeled in 1935, cast in 1986.
Image 3: Richmond Barthé, The Jubilee Singer, cast bronze with a dark brown patina on a marble base, 1928.
Image 4: Richmond Barthé, Stevedore, cast bronze with a brown and green patina on a red marble base, modeled in 1937, cast in 1985.

03/06/2023

ALMA|LEWIS is excited to present “Reclaiming Echoes: A Reflection of African Culture and Legacy,” the first solo exhibition of photography and multimedia work by Abdul Aziz, on view from March 23 - July 22, 2023. Join us for the opening reception and artist talk on Thursday, April 6, 2023 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm.

"In 'Reclaiming Echoes,’ I aim to pay homage to Africa's rich cultural heritage and legacy, as embodied by two important African-centric communities in the United States – Africatown and the African Universal Church. Through my photographic and multimedia works, I aim to capture these communities' essence, unique histories, and enduring spirit.”

Abdul Aziz (b. 1979, New York, NY; based in New Orleans, LA) is an artist and media designer best known for his work as a photojournalist and documentary
filmmaker. Earlier in his career, prior to 2008, he worked with the Juvenile Justice Project of Louisiana. Aziz has chronicled human conflict and urgent social issues in the Middle East and Africa to the far reaches of the Himalayas and US for over two decades. His most recent work focused on the rise of American white nationalism and the Black Lives Matter movement has been widely circulated by leading new agencies such as The New York Times, Der Spiegel, and NPR. In 2021, Aziz was recognized for capturing Louisiana’s history, culture, and peoples with the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities' Documentary Photographer of the Year Award.

Image 1: Exhibition Graphic including Family Photo, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 2: Portrait of Artist Abdul Aziz, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 3: Africatown, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 4: Family Photo, Courtesy of the Artist
Image 5: Africatown Altar, Courtesy of the Artist

02/23/2023

“Archibald John Motley Jr. (1891–1981) was a bold and highly original modernist and one of the great visual chroniclers of twentieth-century American life. He first came to prominence in the 1920s during the early days of the Harlem Renaissance—the cultural flowering of African American art, music, and literature that extended beyond the New York neighborhood of its name to other cities, notably Chicago, where Motley spent most of his life. Motley had a long career and enjoyed recognition for his work early on, yet went through subsequent periods of struggle and obscurity.” - whitney.org

Image 1: Archibald J. Motley Jr. Photo from the collection of Valerie Gerrard Browne and Dr. Mara Motley via the Chicago History Museum.

Image 2: Black Belt, 1934. Oil on canvas, 33 x 40.5 in. (83.8 x 102.9 cm.) Collection of the Hampton University Museum Hampton Virginia

Image 3: The Octoroon Girl, 1925. Oil on canvas, 38 × 30 1/4 in. (96.5 × 76.8 cm). Courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC New York. Image courtesy the Chicago History Museum. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

Image 4: Self-Portrait, 1920. Oil on canvas. 76.3 cm (30 in) x 56 cm (22 in)

Image 5: Hot Rhythm, 1961. Oil on canvas 40 × 48.375 in. (101.6 × 122.9 cm). Collection of Mara Motley MD and Valerie Gerrard Browne. Image courtesy the Chicago History Museum Chicago Illinois. © Valerie Gerrard Browne

02/20/2023

Artist, art historian, and curator, Samella Lewis was renowned for her contributions to African American art and art history. Born on February 27, 1923, in Ponchatoula, Louisiana, Lewis's heritage led her to view art as an essential expression of the community and its struggles. (Two oral histories give her birth year as 1924, but her son said that she came to believe that 1923 was correct.)

Lewis began her art career as a student at Dillard University, where she was instructed by the African American sculptor Elizabeth Catlett. At one of her instructor's suggestions, Lewis transferred to Hampton Institute, where she earned her B.A. degree in art history in 1945. Lewis completed her graduate studies at the Ohio State University, earning her M.A. degree in 1948, and in 1951 she became the first African American woman to receive her doctorate in fine arts and art history. In order to publish Black Artists on Art (1969), Lewis founded the first African American-owned art publishing house Contemporary Crafts.

From 1969 to 1984, Lewis worked as professor of art history at Scripps College in Claremont, California, becoming the college's first tenured African American professor. Lewis also helped to found the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles in 1976 and established the scholarly journal International Review of African American Art that same year. The journal went on to become one of the leading forums for educating scholars and others about the many contributions African Americans have made to the visual arts.

Image 1: Samella Lewis in 1947 with some of her work. An important mentor was the artist Elizabeth Catlett. Courtesy of Louis Stern Fine Arts

Image 2: Samella Lewis in her studio in 1976. Courtesy of Louis Stern Fine Arts

Image 3: Black Artists on Art, 2 vols. (1969, 1971), by Samella Lewis and Ruth Waddy

02/15/2023

“Joan Tarika Lewis, also known as Matilaba, is an American visual artist, accomplished violinist, author, and political activist. She was the first woman to join the Black Panther Party. Ms. Lewis’s art includes portrait, landscape, still life, fashion illustration, greeting card design, stagecraft construction, prototype design, fictional character development, and mural design. Even while honing her visual art skills and pursuing a career as a jazz violinist, Lewis maintained an active role in helping women and children in her community and those traumatized by substance abuse.” - illustrationhistory.org

Image 1: Black History Black Future Joan Tarika Lewis, Youtube video from AAACC SF

Image 2: Moon Dancer... Power of the Full Moon, 2’ x 4’ house paint

Image 3: No More Riots, May 4, 1968, ink on paper

02/13/2023

Tracing the Route of El Bamboulá – Workshop with Artist

February 25, 2023 from 1:00 - 2:30pm

This workshop will guide participants through art-making activities that speculate a migration route of el bamboulá, a dance and music style, originally from Africa, that can be found in the Dominican Republic and forms part of the originating history of Congo Square in New Orleans. Using a selection of archival material gathered by Cruz, participants will draw their own conclusions about the route of el bamboulá and create a collage that will become a page in a collective zine.

This workshop is FREE and open to the public, with no experience necessary.
Registration is required and capacity is limited. Link in our bio.
For ages 13 and up.

📷 Credit: Beatriz Meseguer/onwhitewalls.com. © 2022 The Museum of Modern Art

Visit our gallery:

Wednesday - Friday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
First Saturdays 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
By Appointment

Admission: Free
Tour Appt: [email protected]

02/12/2023

Congratulations, Thaddeus Mosley on your 2023 USA award in visual arts!!! And cheers to all the 2023 USA Fellow awardees! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Go on, Thad!!! ❤️💐🏆

Thaddeus Mosley is a Pittsburgh-based, self-taught artist whose monumental sculptures are crafted with the felled trees of Pittsburgh’s urban canopy via the city’s Forestry Division. Using only a mallet and chisel, Mosley reworks salvaged timber into biomorphic forms. With influences ranging from Isamu Noguchi to Constantin Brâncuși — and the Bamum, Dogon, Baoulé, Senufo, Dan, and Mossi works of his personal collection — Mosley’s sculptures mark an inflection point in the history of American abstraction.

1. Thaddeus Mosley, Portrait photo by Jason Schmidt, Courtesy of the Artist and Karma

2. Thaddeus Mosley, Inverted Dancer, 2020, Courtesy of the Artist and Karma

3. Thaddeus Mosley, Katz Kurve, 2021, Courtesy of the Artist and Karma

02/07/2023

Martha Jackson Jarvis (b. 1952, Lynchburg, VA; lives and works in Washington, DC) is known for her mixed-media installations that explore aspects of African, African American, and Native American spirituality, ecological concerns, and the role of women in preserving indigenous cultures. Her installations are composed using a variety of natural materials including terracotta, sand, copper, recycled stone, glass, wood and coal.
Jackson Jarvis studied at Howard University, and received a BFA from the Tyler School of Art and an MFA from Antioch University. She taught for many years at Maryland Institute College of Art and was the visual artist consultant to Julie Dash’s 1991 film Daughters of the Dust, about an African American family on Georgia’s Sea Islands in the early twentieth century. Jackson Jarvis’s own experience as a child growing up in the segregated South continues to inform her work, especially her early attachment to rural life and her experience of nature.

Image 1: Martha Jackson Jarvis, Photo by Grace Roselli Pandora’s BoxX Project, Courtesy of the Artist

Image 2: Martha Jackson Jarvis, Crossroads/Trickster I, 2005, Commissioned by the North Carolina Museum of Art, Courtesy of the Artist

Image 3: Martha Jackson Jarvis, Live at Montreux Sounds IV, Courtesy of the Artist

Image 4: Martha Jackson Jarvis, Ancestors’ Bones/ Nest Stones, 2008, Courtesy of the Artist

Image 5: Martha Jackson Jarvis, Blue Bloods IX, 2017, Collection of Petrucci Family Foundation, Courtesy of the artist

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Wednesday	12pm - 5pm
Thursday	12pm - 5pm
Friday	12pm - 5pm
Saturday	12pm - 5pm