Luther E. Vann
Born in Savannah, Georgia, Luther E. Vann grew up in both his hometown and New York City. In addition to having won wide recognition and numerous awards for his work, he can also claim the distinction of having received as a youth his first art lessons from the Harlem Renaissance artist Charles Alston, who won fame for his murals in public spaces and for his cover art in national magazines. Vann’s studies with Alston and others of the period make him one of the few living artists who can claim a direct link to the Harlem Renaissance.
From April 16 - August 17, 2008, the Telfair Museum of Savannah presented an extensive exhibition of work by Vann based on ELEMENTAL, The Power of Illuminated Love, his first book. He afterwards went on to participate in various groups shows as well another one-man show titled "Songs of My People," which featured images of musicians of the Harlem Renaissance.
“It has been my personal experience that as I allow the painting to speak I become lost, it is delicious and at the same time frightening. The best ones, to me, have a life of their own.”
“Hopefully, you will glimpse something of your own life’s journey and with Elemental’s Power of Illuminated Love, possibly recognize and celebrate something you had not been able to recognize or celebrate before.”
“The greater puzzle of universal wisdom and beauty that we have strived to honor through our work includes the profound legacies of world artistic and spiritual traditions, the innate integrity of human communities where people seek to live in social harmony, and that regenerative stream of life sustained upon the earth itself as it spins through the cosmos to the music of the spheres.”