Diary Entry #36 Around the World with LEROI: Living in Color / by LeRoi Johnson

Today marks five weeks until the opening of LEROI: Living in Color.

This opening will reflect a year of invested time, talent, and energies by Burchfield Penney Art Center administrators and staff, along with project managers and student artists from Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology, Buffalo Public Schools, Just Buffalo Literary Center, and Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center.

It will also be the culmination of 50 years of my life as an artist, a fact that has people and media across the United States, and around the world, joining together in celebration. It all began last week with a “First Look,” article about the exhibit in the nationally respected American Alliance of Museums’ Magazine.

That honor resulted in RSVP’s to the opening from family, friends, and fellow art associates from New York City to Miami, Washington, DC to Los Angeles and across the Great Lake states of New York, Ohio and Michigan. Then there were the international responses, from Brazil, Canada, England, and Japan.

This week, Houston Style Magazine joined the party as they published an online story about the exhibition, complete with images (click image below to read.) Again, more responses and congratulations.

As these next five weeks morph into days and hours until the opening, I know there will be additional media stories, and more supporters becoming part of what Burchfield Penney has defined as my, “…first retrospective exhibition.”

While I value this honor, I am also equally thrilled for the 80 student artists who have used paints, materials, words, and videos to create their interpretations of my art. And which now, people across America and around the world will have the opportunity to experience and enjoy.

Link to article

LEROI: Living in Color Exhibition includes the work of students from Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT,) Buffalo Public Schools (BPS,) Just Buffalo Literary Center (JBLC,) and Squeaky Wheel Film & Media Art Center. The exhibition will be on view at the Burchfield Penney Art Center through March 26, 2023, presented by M&T Bank, with additional support from organizations and individuals throughout the Western New York community.