Sacred Spaces: The Work and Collection of Charles Bibbs

November 2, 2023 – March 10, 2024

This landmark exhibition, filling three galleries of the Riverside Art Museum, will present a range of works from Charles Bibbs personal art collection as well as the artist’s own original paintings and drawings. Sacred Spaces displays Bibbs life-long love of contemporary art and artists in order to share his creative values with the public.

Alongside paintings and sculptures from Bibbs art collection, a number of Bibbs own iconic works celebrating the black community are presented throughout the Member’s Gallery and the Bobbie Powell and Devean Galleries. A majestic series honoring Black women, Civil Rights paintings and the totemic Power& Glory are among the works Bibbs will spotlight in Sacred Spaces.

Among the influential masters on view in the exhibition are classic humanist works by Samella Lewis and John Biggers, vibrant compositions by Synthia Saint James, and works of gentle spirituality by Frank Howell. All of these artists have been part of Bibbs journey as an artist, advocate and self-validating entrepreneur. Through Bibbs unique vision and perspective, he seeks not only to share his artistic journey, but to send a message about the power of art in everyday life.

Bibbs believes that there can be a vital connection between the art that people see in public spaces and the lives that they live in the more intimate spaces they inhabit every day. Sacred Spaces brings together these concepts in the hopes that visitors will take their experiences from the museum and bring that connection with art into the sacred spaces of their own homes. The deep acknowledgement of the link between one’s own experience and a piece of art, and how that can then be reflected and expanded on in one’s own home, is a living pathway that Bibbs wants to illuminate in this carefully curated installation of his works.

Pictured: Charles Bibbs. The Gift. Courtesy of the artist.

Save the date! The exhibition celebration will be on Saturday, November 4, 2023 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

MUSEUM MATTERS