#art, Meet North American Artist Thornton Dial

(Image source: Souls Grown Deep Foundation)

Thornton Dial (1928–2016) was a «self-taught» artist, (well no one can teach themselves what they do not know, so he must have had some sources of learning to feed off from). This Black North American artist is today known for his powerful mixed-media assemblages with which he explored themes of race, history, social justice, and human struggle. Dial was born in rural Emelle, Alabama and grew up in the segregated South where he spent much of his life working in industrial and agricultural labor, particularly as a metalworker in a Pullman railcar plant.

Yet he began making art from an early age using discarded materials. This practice would prove central to his mature work. He made large-scale, densely layered sculptures and paintings that often incorporated found objects such as scrap metal, fabric, wire, and wood, transforming them into complex, emotionally charged compositions. The references for his work were mainly African American vernacular traditions, Southern storytelling, and abstract expressionism.

Of course he was ignored by the mainstream art world for much of his life, however, Dial gained recognition in the 1990s, thanks in part to the efforts of art historian William Arnett. Arnett helped bring Dial’s work—and that of other Black Southern artists—into major museums and galleries. Today, Dial is recognised as a major figure in contemporary North American art, and his work is held in the collections of institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Thornton Dial’s art is widely regarded for its visual power but it is also important because of its deep moral and historical value which offers a clear and proper commentary on the Black experience in North America.

Here are some examples of his work…