The Shellof Vitus

    The Moonpie Project Presents: VITUS SHELL   from   Crosstown Arts   on   Vimeo . New Mural by Vitus Shell on View in Crosstown Louisiana native Vitus Shell is the latest artist to be featured in Crosstown Arts’ ongoing mural series, The Moonpie Project. The public can meet the artist and see his new installation at an opening reception on Friday, December 9th from 5 to 7 p.m. The mural will remain on view in the alley between Crosstown Arts and the Cleveland Street Flea Market, facing N. Cleveland Street, through early February. The mural features a colorful pop art-inspired portrait of a African American woman alongside the words “Protect Her!,” a particularly relevant and socially aware message in an era when some would say women’s rights have come under attack. Shell’s work combines elements of African American history with aspects of contemporary black culture. His work has been described as nontraditional, edgy, socially aware, and gutsy. A native ...

  Artists-in-Residence: Spring 2016 Firelei Báez Aron Belka, Emerging Artist-in-Residence Blake Boyd Nyame Brown william cordova Blane De St. Croix Adriana Farmiga Asuka Goto Gabriel Martinez Vitus Shell Chloe St. Etienne, Emerging Artist-in-Residence Whiting Tennis Amanda Valdez Samantha Wall

  Must Be Two Sides:  A local art exhibition portrays dueling sides of black life. Article by Laura McKnight, Photo by Lawrence McNeal New Orleans Living Magazine The inspiration for artist Vitus Shell’s new exhibition stems from a brief, but powerful moment on a Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans: the abrupt exchange of gunfire between young men, which caused no injuries and only a short interruption in festivities led by Mardi Gras Indians. Shell, a native of Monroe, La., who was in town as part of an artist residency, was struck by the juxtaposition of the events — the sickening sound of gunshots versus the pride and grace of Mardi Gras Indian feathers and chants. Shell said he remembers a staffer with the Joan Mitchell Center, the group hosting his residency, wondering if the group should continue to bring visiting artists to that area. And then his friend’s response, which hit Shell as an appropriate summation of black life: “She’s gotta understand you gotta take the good with...

  Must Be Two Sides: A local art exhibition portrays dueling sides of black life.    The inspiration for artist Vitus Shell’s new exhibition stems from a brief, but powerful moment on a Mardi Gras Day in New Orleans: the abrupt exchange of gunfire between young men, which caused no injuries and only a short interruption in festivities led by Mardi Gras Indians. Shell, a native of Monroe, La., who was in town as part of an artist residency, was struck by the juxtaposition of the events — the sickening sound of gunshots versus the pride and grace of Mardi Gras Indian feathers and chants. Shell said he remembers a staffer with the Joan Mitchell Center, the group hosting his residency, wondering if the group should continue to bring visiting artists to that area. And then his friend’s response, which hit Shell as an appropriate summation of black life: “She’s gotta understand you gotta take the good with the bad.” “There are always those dualities of something beautiful ...

 

  Photos by Lawrence McNeal  

  FUTURE HISTORIES The works of Masur Museum resident artist Vitus Shell are a mixed media tour-de-force that bring the viewer face to face with the lives that are and the lives that might have been. article by  Michael DeVault |  photos by  Brad Arender for  BayouLife Magazine When Vitus Shell watches the news or reads a magazine, he’s struck by the complexities that swirl about, lurking just beneath the surface and out of view. Layers of history and corollaries pile one atop the other until, at last, the neatness of story is lost amidst the chaos of realness. By the time Shell puts brush to canvas, the nuances and folds of events have woven throughout him, permeating him until he’s at once equal parts skeptical observer, empathetic spirit, and willing co-conspirator. If there’s a subversive quality to Shell’s works–collages that are decidedly political, challenge the norms, and defy the conventions of contemporary young artists–that quality is underscored by a...