Thornton Dial: I, Too, Am Alabama | Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Birmingham, AL
September 9 – December 10, 2022
More information on the exhibitionThornton Dial
I, Too, Am Alabama
Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts
University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
Curated by Paul Barrett
The University of Alabama at Birmingham's Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, in partnership with Samford University and the Wiregrass Museum of Art, is pleased to present I, Too, Am Alabama, an exhibition of work by the late artist Thornton Dial. This presentation is the first large-scale exhibition of Dial’s work in his home state of Alabama, and will feature work spanning the artist’s career. The exhibition includes masterworks of sculpture, works on paper, and assemblages, with many works that have never been previously exhibited or published, and features significant loans from the Dial family, Alabama institutions, and private collections. Alongside the exhibition, the Samford University Art Gallery, Birmingham, AL, will present I, Too, Am Thornton Dial, which focuses on Dial’s works on paper, on view September 15–December 2, 2022.
Thornton Dial, Sr. was born in 1928 in the tiny rural community of Emelle, AL. Raised by his great-grandmother, Dial went to work on the farm as a small child, harvesting corn and sweet potatoes. After the death of his great-grandmother, Dial and his younger half-brother went to live with a relative in the small industrial town of Bessemer, AL. While growing up in Bessemer, Dial held many odd jobs—including raising cattle, hauling ice, and masonry and carpentry work—until he was employed as a metalworker at the Bessemer Pullman-Standard boxcar factory, where he worked intermittently until its closure in 1981.
Throughout his life experiences as a husband, father of five children, neighbor, and paternal figure to his entire family, Dial was quietly observing and honing his artistic skills. In 1993, his first solo museum exhibition, Image of the Tiger, was jointly presented by the American Folk Art Museum, New York, NY and the New Museum, New York, NY. In 2000, Dial’s work was featured in the Whitney Museum Biennial, as well as in the major solo exhibitions Hard Truths: The Art of Thornton Dial at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN; traveled to New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans, LA; Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA (2011); and Thornton Dial in the 21st Century at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX (2005).
Today, Dial’s work can be found in the collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA; High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA; Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY. In Dial’s home state of Alabama, his works are in UAB’s Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Birmingham; Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham; Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art, Auburn; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery; and the Paul R. Jones Museum, Tuscaloosa.
Public Programming
Alongside the exhibition, the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts will host a series of events inspired by the life and work of Thornton Dial.
September 9, 5:30pm
Panel + Opening Night Reception
A public exhibition reception with a panel discussion about Vernacular Art and Dial's career, featuring esteemed scholars, artists, and members of the Dial family.
September 10, 12–5pm
Dial Family Homecoming
A weekend celebration of what would have been Thornton Dial’s 94th birthday, including activities for the whole family and catering by Bob Syke's Barbeque. UAB will provide a shuttle service between AEIVA and Dial’s Bessemer neighborhood.
September 10, 5pm
Lonnie Holley feat. Lee Bains
A free musical performance at the ASC Reynolds-Kirschbaum Recital Hall. Artist Lonnie Holley has devoted his life to the practice of improvisational creativity, never performing the same song twice. Lee Bains is an alternative Southern rock musician. Both artists are from Birmingham.
October 5, 12–1pm
Lunch & Learn
In partnership with UAB Arts in Medicine and ArtPlay Community Art Education, this discussion will focus on artists with disabilities and how those challenges have affected their creative practice. Featuring artists Richard Dial and Jakob Dwight.
October 6, 5:30pm
Movie/Pizza/Tour Night
Join Gareth Jones, UAB Director of the Office of Service Learning and Undergraduate Education, for pizza and discussion featuring the screening of Alabama Public Television’s series MONOGRAPH episode on Thornton Dial. A Q&A with the MONOGRAPH production team will follow the screening.
October 20, 5:30pm
Chamber Music @ AEIVA
In partnership with UAB Department of Music, AEIVA will present a thoughtfully curated selection of classical music in response to the works and themes of I, Too, Am Alabama.
November 10, 5:30pm
AEIVA Spoken Word
In partnership with UAB Department of English and Creative Writing Program, UAB graduate students will write and perform poetry in response to the works and themes in Thornton Dial's exhibition.
December 9, 12–5pm
Closing Reception
A closing reception celebrating the final days of Thornton Dial: I, Too, Am Alabama.
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