Rudy has a show up and we are releasing this episode for 2016 on the occasion. KATES-FERRI PROJECTS is delighted to present Rudy Shepherd's first solo exhibition with the gallery, THE GOLDEN AGE, from April 3 to May 5, 2024, with a reception on Friday, April 5, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at their 561 Grand Street space. This collection of acrylic on canvas paintings evolves from Shepherd's ongoing portrait series and delves into the visual culture of the golden age of hip-hop in the 1980s and 1990s, a period of tremendous innovation and stylistic experimentation in the genre. The artist renders intricate portraits of legendary musicians from iconic publicity photos and album covers, crafting massive 3' by 4' and 4' by 4' works that display the bravado and opulence of hip-hop while also interrogating it, prompting the viewer to reflect on the many meanings embedded in hip-hop imagery and music.
Rudy Shepherd received a BS in Biology and Studio Art from Wake Forest University and an MFA in Sculpture from the School of Art Institute of Chicago. He has been in solo exhibitions at Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, CT, Latchkey Gallery, NY, Mixed Greens Gallery, NY, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY, Regina Miller Gallery, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA and group exhibitions at MoMA PS1, NY, The Studio Museum in Harlem, NY, Bronx Museum of Art, NY, Art in General, NY, Triple Candie, NY, Socrates Sculpture Park, NY, Cheekwood Museum of Art, TN, Contemporary Museum, Baltimore, MD, Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, CT, Southeastern Center of Contemporary Art, NC, Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, IL, Tart Gallery, San Francisco, CA and Analix Forever Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland. He has been awarded Artist in Residence at PS1 National/International Studio Program, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, NY, Artist in Residence Visual + Harlem, Jacob Lawrence Institute for the Visual Arts, New York, N, Emerging Artist Fellowship, Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY, Artist in Residence, Location One, NY, Process Space Artist in Residence Program Governors Island, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, New York, NY. He has done public art projects on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, Penn State University, PA at Socrates Sculpture Park, Long Island City, NY, First Street Green Art Park, New York, NY and the Three Rivers Arts Festival, Pittsburgh, PA in 2015 and in Harlem in collaboration with the Studio Museum in Harlem.