Romare Bearden's URBAN RHYTHMS & DREAMS OF PARADISE Exhibition Opens at ACA Today, 11/3

ROMARE BEARDEN: Urban Rhythms & Dreams of Paradise exhibition, featuring major collages from private collection, will be on view today, November 3 through January 12, 2013 at ACA Galleries. The opening reception will be held today, November 3 from 3 to 5pm at ACA Galleries, 529 W 20th Street 5th floor New York, NY.

Urban Rhythms and Dreams of Paradise is part of ACA Galleries' celebration of 80 years championing American art of social relevance. Established in 1932, ACA Galleries continues in this tradition, exhibiting masterworks of the 20th century and giving voice to the artists of the 21st.

Romare Bearden is recognized as one of the most inventive and original artists of our time. He transformed the medium of collage into a vehicle for his own highly personal expression.

Bearden was born in Charlotte, NC and moved to Harlem, NY in 1914. An intimate knowledge of the Jazz world reinforced Bearden's cultural identity within the Harlem community. By the 1950s, Bearden (originally a mathematician) was a cognoscente of Jazz and co-founded the Bluebird Music Company. Among the 20 songs he composed was the Beguine classic "Seabreeze" which was recorded by Bill Eckstine and later by Tito Puente. One of the earliest collectors of Bearden's work was Jazz legend Fats Waller.

Bearden was honored with the National Medal of Arts in 1987. His work is in the Permanent Collections of numerous museums including The Metropolitan Museum of Art,NY; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Carnegie Art Institute, PA; Hirshhorn Museum & Sculpture Garden, DC; National Museum of American Art, DC; The Whitney Museum, NY; and the Art Institute of Chicago, among others.

Artwork: Urban Rythms and Dreams of Paradise - On Such A Night As This. Romare Bearden. Collage on board 1975.