Behind Chicago Native Robert Earl Paige’s Solo Exhibition

Photo: Tom Van Eynde

Photo: Tom Van Eynde

Photo: Tom Van Eynde

Photo: Tom Van Eynde

Chicago native Robert Earl Paige’s vast array of works exploring the artist’s lifelong quest for beauty are being shown in a solo exhibition at the Hyde Park Art Center. On view through October 27, “The United Colors of Robert Earl Paige” is part of Art Design Chicago, an effort by the Terra Foundation for American Art to spotlight the city’s artistic heritage and creative communities.

Raised on the South Side, Paige’s art responds to the patterns, colors and materials of Black life. “Beauty can create a shared understanding between people,” Paige says. The octogenarian’s clay paintings, hand-dyed textiles, drawings, collages and ceramic objects are equally inspired by modernist aesthetics as they are by African traditions. “Everything is connected,” he says, “and I’m connected to everything. It’s all humanity.”