Center for the Study of the American South

Reception for Love House Gallery Artist, Theresa Gloster

Posted 04/21/2011

Reception for Gallery Artist, Theresa Gloster

with live gospel music by The Branchettes

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 | 5 to 7 p.m.

Love House and Hutchins Forum,  410 East Franklin Street, Chapel Hill.

Theresa Gloster is a "memory painter" who paints scenes from her childhood in an African American community in the N.C. mountains. Her work reflects how memory presses itself into painted testimony, and in doing so seamlessly ties together the lived threads of history, inspiration, and artistry.

Theresa Gloster's path to painting - like that of so many other southern self-taught artists - began with prayer, as she asked God to grant her a gift that would bring fulfillment.  The answer to those prayers came when she realized that painting was her God-given path.  The works that have since emerged - painted on canvas, cardboard, masonite, and a variety of other surfaces - tellingly capture the vibrancy of life in a working-class southern community, detailing the everyday moments that grounded and gave meaning to African American identity.

Lena Mae Perry and Wilbur Tharpe of gospel group The Branchettes are pleased to join Theresa Gloster for this reception to bring to life the music that features so prominently in her art.  Hailing from Johnston County, North Carolina, the group has shared their gifts of gospel music for many years, receiving in 1995 the North Carolina Art Council's Folk Heritage Award honoring a lifetime of achievement.  Please join us for an early evening of light refreshments, music, conversation and fabulous art!  For more information please call 919-962-5665.