Solo Show by Mentor Germain Hatcher

Pieces featured: Cudjo "Barracoon" Lewis & Stagecoach Mary Star Route Carrier

Mentor Germain Hatcher has a show at Avery Gallery!

The Walter Lee Avery Art Gallery is housed within City Hall at 440 Harcourt Avenue, Seaside, CA.

Gallery hours are 8:30 to 4:30 Monday–Friday

Reception February 11th 7:00pm–8:30pm

Exhibit ends March 3, 2022

Check out this statement from the artist herself:

“By Faith“ is the visualization of an oral history. I attempted to convey the texture, nuance, tone, and context of a lot of people’s lives in this 26-piece body of work. It started from something that I read a long time ago. I wanted to explore what I read further—while adding back the layers that gave the stories life. I think I’ve accomplished that in quite a few of the pieces.

This series started out as charcoal and graphite studies…just to make sure I paid proper homage to the people whose history I was trying to convey. Then I moved on to doing collages and watercolors, and ended with a wax medium to give more color and vibrancy to the stories.

It was in 1988 I when I came across the book “Bullwhip Days”—32 interviews with ex-enslaved people that were assigned to journalists from the WPA (Works Progress Administration) during the 1930’s. The interviews stayed with me for a decade. I thought it was one of the most fascinating things that I ever read because it was full of context…context that you don’t get from “there were slaves in America“

Now it's time to hear the “slaves in America” stories or rather the enslaved people’s history. What I hope to have done with this project is give back that context and nuance.