Winfred & Mitchell Rembert: Father & Son by adelsongalleries

Winfred & Mitchell REMBERT REMBERT::

FAT H E R & S O N

Winfred & Mitchell REMBERT:

FAT H E R & S O N November 4, 2021 – January 6, 2022 On view at our New York gallery: 595 Madison Avenue, 4th Floor New York, NY 10022

New York The Fuller Building • 595 Madison Avenue, 4th Fl • New York, NY 10022 • (212) 439-6800 Palm Beach 318 Worth Avenue • Palm Beach, FL 33480 • (561) 720-2079 www.adelsongalleries.com

Mitchell and Winfred Rembert

Winfred & Mitchell REMBERT: FATHER & SON The last time I saw Winfred Rembert was in 2019 visiting his home in New Haven. The small room where he worked was strewn with unpainted, tooled leather – various works in progress. He had an ambitious project in mind to create his entire life’s story in a series of 50 small vignettes from beginning to end. I could tell that even the prospect of recalling those early memories was taking a toll on him. During our meeting, Winfred asked his son Mitchell to show me a work on leather he had made. I remember how Winfred lit up. He was at once full of pride and enthusiasm for his son’s interest and natural talent for the medium that he used to tell his own story. As we all looked at Mitchell’s painting, Winfred’s eyes were full of love and held a quiet demeanor as he studied the textured work. I sensed that he had a deep connection to this painting. It was as if he were reading a text in a language that only he and Mitchell fully understood. Winfred said, “It’s actually pretty good!” in a cadence of a father that is simultaneously surprised and fully aware of his son’s ability. What he meant was “It’s really good.” Mitchell shares a medium with his late father, who built his reputation on telling his harrowing life’s story of survival and perseverance through racism and abuse as a black man growing up in the Jim Crow south. There is much of Winfred’s more recent story that he did not tell in his art. Racial injustice remains an issue in America, and the racism that Winfred experienced as a young man has evolved into a different form of inequality. He knew there was more to say about contemporary society, and Mitchell has the ability and personal experience to tell his own story. Beyond the leather, Mitchell’s work is singular in his approach – they give us the perspective of a black man in America today who sees and feels the atrocities being done to him and others. By virtue of Mitchell’s passion for creating these artworks, he seeks to carry on his father’s legacy and remind everyone that while things may seem different and evolved, history tends to repeat itself. Out of Winfred’s eight children, Mitchell is the only one that Winfred chose to pass on his craft. Winfred shared his techniques and showed Mitchell the function of every instrument he used. With the information, Mitchell has taken the artistry further by experimenting with new tools and approaches to make the medium his own. They collaborated on a few works, but mostly Mitchell has created works that speak to his experience. Mitchell is passionate about the subjects that he portrays and, like his father, each picture has a story behind it. We are proud to have represented Winfred Rembert for over ten years during his life, and just as excited to introduce Mitchell in our gallery. ADAM ADELSON Executive Director, Adelson Galleries 5

W I N F R E D R E M B E R T

AFRICAN AMERICAN GOTHIC “In the field, it seemed that all family people hang together. You could look around and see the families gathered together. Some families were big, and some were small. Togetherness was a big part of Black Life in those days. When I watch TV and see movies about Black Life in the south, they never depict black pregnant women working in the cotton field. A great number of women gave birth to their children in the fields. They had their babies, wrapped them in a cloth, laid them under a cotton bush, and went right back to work. Black women were tough.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert African-American Gothic, 2014 Dye on carved and tooled leather 16 x 10 1/2 inches Price on request 9

LOADING UP COTTON BAGS “There aren’t any good memories I can think of in the cotton field. My first memories of being in the fields I must have been around four or five years old. At that age I was just walking up and down the cotton rows playing with rocks and cotton balls and using them to make the shape of people and animals. By the time I was seven, I had my own cotton sack and was carrying my own row. I was never able to keep up with everyone else, so Mama was always turning around on my row to help me catch up. My picking was never enough to weigh, so Mama would put mine with hers. Maybe, just maybe, I was picking 15 pounds a day. Since cotton was two dollars a hundred pounds, I was making 15 to 20 cents a day. Mama was picking three hundred fifty a day, so she was making seven dollars a day. Getting up at four o’clock every morning wasn’t any fun either.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Loading Up Cotton Bags, 2012 Dye on carved and tooled leather 41 1/2 x 28 inches Price on request 11

UNTITLED (CLASSROOM SCENE) “I was always an angry cotton picker because I wanted to go to school. The plantation owner where we lived wanted me to be a field worker, not a student, so I didn’t get to go to school but a little…” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Untitled (Classroom Scene), 1997 Dye on carved and tooled leather 20 x 31 inches Private collection

OVERSEERS IN THE FIELD #2 “When I was in the cotton field, I thought the Overseers were mean men because they would always scream and yell at the workers about how much work they were doing. Most Overseers rode a horse, but a few did walk. Some Overseers were black, and some were white. I also think they got paid more than anyone else. I think the Overseers were a carbon copy of their boss. They were taught how to treat and talk to the workers. Some carried guns to intimidate the workers. I never liked the Black Overseers. When I see them, I see the plantation owners. They had special privileges, lived in better houses, and some had cars.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Overseers in the Field #2, 2008 Dye on carved and tooled leather 49 1/2 x 29 1/4 inches Private collection 15

CHOPPING WATERMELON “Watermelon have always been a favorite fruit of mine. People have always associated watermelons with Black Folk. I can’t figure out the connection, but that’s the way it was. I think everybody loves watermelon, but I must say that Black Folk LOVE watermelon. I used to work in the melon patch, and it was hard work. We used to take home all we wanted, and there were always a lot laying around. Every Saturday evening, all the neighbors would get together and we would eat watermelons. I must say that we enjoyed it!” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Chopping Watermelon, 2009 Dye on carved and tooled leather 30 1/2 x 38 inches Price on request

THE GOSPEL “Going to church was a lot of fun. I enjoyed singing and preaching, but what I loved best were the Holy Ghost dancers. People with the Holy Ghost loved to tell ‘Lord I got the Holy Ghost.’ Some people faint and fall to the floor. Some pass out. Some dance. Some speak in unknown tongues. I’ve been waiting to get the Holy Ghost, but I guess I’m not a candidate to be caught.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert The Gospel, 2011 Dye on carved and tooled leather 31 3/4 x 37 inches Private collection

WINFRED’S POOL ROOM “When I first went into a pool room, I didn’t like it. But when I saw that it took a lot of skill to play, I fell in love with it. Jeff, the pool room owner, took me under his wing and showed me how to play the game. I could beat everybody around except Super and Raincoat Red. Jeff was a good man. He died of Asthma, and his funeral was sad. Jeff was like a father to me. He gave me my first job outside the cotton field. I took over his pool room so that he didn’t have to work. I should have been in school, but it was too late for that. Jeff didn’t get rich in the pool room business, but he did make a living.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Winfred’s Pool Room, 2007 Dye on carved and tooled leather 30 1/2 x 25 4/5 inches Private collection 21

CHAIN GANG (ALL ME) “The Chain Gang is nowhere you want to be. The demand is great. So great you can barely make it. The Chain Gang is designed to mentally break you down. I’m so glad I had the strength to get through. I realized that I had to be more than just myself to survive. So this picture is All Me. What I felt I had to be to survive on the Chain Gang. Friends are few, so the more you stay to yourself, the better you are. My seven years was the worst in my life. I didn’t dye this picture so that people could see the work before it’s dyed. Some people can’t see the detail in the work after its dyed… I have over a hundred tools that I use to get this 3-D effect.” WINFRED REMBERT

Winfred Rembert Chain Gang (All Me), 2005 Carved and tooled leather 30 x 34 1/2 inches Private collection

M I T C H E L L R E M B E R T

MY FATHER “My Father is about my Dad’s history and trials he faced growing up. This is a tribute not only to his life but his art technique and creativity. As I live my life and try to find my voice in the process, these are the images that stick out in my mind. Winfred growing up poor going through segregation, his lynching: escaping the noose. It made my problems seem minuscule. I felt I could never face him if I ever gave up at anything. He had it so much harder in my mind. I didn’t grow up rich, but he made me feel like I had it all. He used to tell me some of the things that motivated him when he and my mother spent their first night together as husband and wife. There was a hole in the ceiling and [he] whispers to my mother “don’t worry at least we can spend every night under the stars.” That moved me. Not just the sweet words but how he meant it. Thinking of that and where we were at the moment in a house with my mother and siblings, he didn’t have it so nice, but he made sure we had a family. It made me feel determined that anything is possible.” MITCHELL REMBERT

Mitchell Rembert My Father, 2021 Dye on carved and tooled leather 30 x 22 1/2 inches $20,000 27

PICKING SHOES “One of my first completed works on leather. I began this composition in collaboration with my Dad. Although I never picked cotton myself, I used the activity as a metaphor for my view of contemporary life as a black person. Social pressure and cultural norms enlist me and my friends to become slaves to the endless pursuit of vanity. Working as hard as we can with the opportunities that we’ve been given, I feel like my demographic is doomed to “pick cotton” until we die – represented by the many skulls littered in the landscape. All the while, large corporations and a chosen few profits from our struggle.” MITCHELL REMBERT

Mitchell Rembert Picking Shoes, 2020 Dye on carved and tooled leather 24 1/2 x 33 inches $15,000

LA AMISTAD “In high school, my class worked on building a replica of La Amistad. The ship is known for the historic revolt by enslaved Africans off the coast of Cuba. On July 2, 1883, fifty-three captives rose up against their Spanish captors, choosing to fight for their lives rather than being sold into slavery. At first, I was resistant to the idea of recreating a slave ship – being one of the few black kids in my class. I felt isolated and offended that my teachers made me participate. However, upon setting sail for the first time, on the river where the original ship may have toured, I was overcome with emotion. I understood the profound sacrifices that my ancestors made to allow my freedom.” MITCHELL REMBERT

Mitchell Rembert La Amistad, 2021 Dye on carved and tooled leather 32 1/2 x 27 inches $15,000 31

BEAST FROM THE SEA “Beast from the Sea is tribute to a slave that sailed to Japan with Dutch missionaries in the late 1500s. He was bought by Lord Oda Nobunaga. The Lord had never seen a black person and ordered him to be cleaned. He was taken back by the man’s size and stature and allowed the slave to study Bushudo and earn the rank of Samurai, renaming him “Yasuke” meaning “HeIp.” I chose Yasuke because his story sticks out to me. It had to be overwhelming to be in a world where you’re the only one of your kind: far from home and family, still in bondage. His story doesn’t end in triumph. After becoming a Samurai, he inherited his master’s vision of a unified Japan. Along with the son of the Lord they fought many battles until one day Nobunaga was usurped by the other Lords. Most Samurai are allowed to perform “seppuku” (ritual suicide) in the face of defeat, but the Lords did not allow that for Yasuke. They stripped him of his armor and rank – he was not allowed an honorable death. Instead, he was sold back to Dutch missionaries as a slave and called him a beast. I have a great admiration for Japanese art lore and culture so in my mind I like to think the spirit of Yasuke still roams the oceans around Japan. I chose the dragon to represent what they called him: the beast. People are not always what they seem. Outsiders are quick to judge our appearance before understanding our beliefs and abilities.” MITCHELL REMBERT

Mitchell Rembert Beast from the Sea, 2021 Dye on carved and tooled leather 37 x 23 inches $15,000

I CAN’T BREATHE “This painting was very difficult to complete. I underestimated how powerful emotions can take over when creating art. It’s like being trapped in the moment: feeling the pain, hearing the screams. I personally have had several encounters with police. They weren’t as brutal, but my rights were violated, nonetheless. This could have been me many times. I’ve witnessed unjust police brutality my entire life. There’s one thing I learned about power: It is sure to corrupt the weak minded. I’m aware of racial tensions and I feel like the brutality is so much deeper than race. Given the right time and place, that scene could have been any American down on the ground begging for life; a chance to live regardless of race or status. We the people are not created equal in face of the police. Derek Chauvin and police officers like him may as well kneel on the constitution instead of swearing an oath to it.” MITCHELL REMBERT

Mitchell Rembert I Can’t Breathe, 2021 Dye on carved and tooled leather 28 x 19 inches $15,000 35

FOR INQUIRIES, PLEASE CONTACT: ADAM ADELSON Executive Director adam@adelsongalleries.com

NEW YORK The Fuller Building 595 Madison Avenue, 4th Fl New York, NY 10022 (212) 439-6800 PALM BEACH 318 Worth Avenue Palm Beach, FL 33480 (561) 720-2079 WWW.ADELSONGALLERIES.COM