Renee Stout
| Renee L. Stout | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 Junction City, Kansas |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania |
| Known for | Assemblage art |
Renee Stout (born 1958) is a contemporary artist known for assemblage artworks dealing with her personal history and African-American heritage. Born in Kansas, raised in Pittsburg, living in Washington, D.C., and strongly connected through her art to New Orleans, Stout has strong ties to multiple parts of the United States. Her art reflects this, with thematic interest in African diasporic culture throughout the United States.
Stout was born in Junction City, Kansas to a family that enjoyed creative activities. Her mother did needlework. Her father, a mechanic and steelworker, liked to tinker. An uncle was a fine-art painter. When Stout was one year old, her family returned to the East Liberty neighborhood in Pittsburgh. She took weekend classes at the Carnegie Museum of Art as a child, which she credits for exposing her to African art. Writing of her pivotal encounter with an nkisi nkondi, "I saw a piece there that had all these nails in it...And I think once I got exposed to more African art in my travels as I got older, I found that I started going back to the pieces like that."
Stout attended Carnegie Mellon University, graduating with a BFA in 1980, where she followed the realist style of Edward Hopper and Richard Estes. After moving to Washington, D.C. in 1985, Stout was exposed to the gritty reality of urban drug use and racism–themes which she has incorporated into her work. Stout also explores her African American heritage in her art. Through the African diaspora, as well as the world and her immediate environment, Stout finds the inspiration to create works that encourage self-examination, self-empowerment and self-healing, harnessing the belief systems of African peoples and their descendants.
Additionally, Stout uses imaginary characters to create a variety of artwork, some of which include: painting, mixed media sculpture, photography and installation. Stout is the recipient of awards from the Joan Mitchell Foundation, the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, and has shown her work in solo and group shows throughout the United States, and in England, Russia and the Netherlands.
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