Exhibitions | Beverly Buchanan

Beverly Buchanan: “Buchanan (1940-2015) is best known for her mostly small-scale sculptures of southern vernacular architecture—humble, expressive constructions made from recycled wood, tar, foam core, paint, charcoal, and metal. These dilapidated yet sturdy forms with slanted roofs, wood frames, and stilt foundations re-create the rustic folk styles of tenant farm housing—the “shotgun,” the “dogtrot,”and the “saddlebag”—that Buchanan first encountered as a child in South Carolina.”

-Jane Ursula Harris

Untitled   Glass, bottles, wood, license plate   Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, Atlanta Georgia, Gift of Lucinda and Robert Bunnen.  2012.12

Note: This exhibition finished hanging on July 27, 2019.

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Beverly Buchanan

The Southern-raised Beverly Buchanan is noted for her exploration of Southern vernacular architecture and used sourced wood scraps and foam core to build her signature “shacks.” Whether inhabited or abandoned, her structures are meant to embody the spirit of those who lived there, what she referred to as “emotional groundings.” She stated it best, saying, “A lot of my pieces have the word ‘ruins’ in their titles because I think that tells you this object has been through a lot and survived — that’s the idea behind the sculptures … it’s like, ‘Here I am; I’m still here!” Buchanan passed away in 2015 at the age of 74. Her works - permanently featured at The Met, The Whitney, and Georgia Museum of Art, among others - include painting, sculpture, video, and landscape art. This exhibition is a homecoming of sorts as her work is brought back to a state where she spent many years.