Artist Statement
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It is indeed a strange thing to speak from one’s heart without knowing the exact words that verbalize the experience. This phenomenon happens within the language of painting. A painting is a quiet dialogue in which volumes of information are slowly and silently revealed, yet its entire essence can be experienced within a moment’s glance. I believe my paintings are done in a language more closely in tune with my spirit than the language of my tongue. For me, the act of painting is not just a means to a product; it is also a meditative process of communication. Thus, it is with the visual language that I choose to speak about the outer world discovered in our daily earthly walk and the inner world within. This inner world lies slightly beneath the surface of our external reality. Multifaceted works with layers of meaning are the consequence of working between the dichotomy of internal and external inspirations. The works transition from intellectual to intuitive, from being a traditional, highly rendered painting to being an abstractly motivated piece. If my paintings are successful they will not only speak to the viewer’s mind, but they will also speak to the deeper being that lies beyond words.
It is said that every man prays in his own language and that God understands all languages. At the end of life, my greatest hope for the works I have left behind is that they will be perceived as visual prayers, psalms, or sermons, beautifully unfolding the boundless richness and glorious splendor of the Kingdom. [End Page 965]
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Sedrick Huckaby, Shekhinah Glory (2009-2010) Oil on panel (20” x 27 ³/₈”)
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Sedrick Huckaby, Our Brokenness #1 (2010-2011) Oil on paper mounted on panels (24 ¼” x 48”)
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Sedrick Huckaby, Halle Lujah (2011) Oil on canvas (36” x 23 ¾”)
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Sedrick Huckaby, Diabetes (2012) Oil on canvas (36” x 36”)
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SEDRICK HUCKABY, a professor of art at the University of Texas in Arlington, lives in Fort Worth, Texas, the city in which he was born in 1975. In 1997, he was awarded the BFA from Boston University and, in 1999, the MFA from Yale University. His work is included in such collections as the African American Museum in Dallas, the Kansas African American Museum in Wichita, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. In addition to receiving the Lewis Comfort Tiffany Award and the Imagination Celebration Spirit of the Future Award, he has also been honored by fellowships at Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. He has also been a Kate Neal Kinley Memorial Fellow at the University of Illinois, a Brandeis Mortimer Hays Traveling Fellow in Europe, and a Guggenheim Fellow. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the USA, including Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Ohio, and New York. His current projects focus on family portraits and the art of quilt-making. He is married to Letitia Huckaby, who is also a visual artist.
