Join us on AART the Podcast for an inspiring conversation with Vinnie Bagwell, a renowned sculptor and representational-figurative artist. In this biographical interview, Vinnie shares her journey as an accomplished sculptor, exploring the intersections of storytelling, history, and the human form through her remarkable figurative art. Discover how she captures emotion, movement, and cultural narratives in her sculptures, bringing history and identity to life in three dimensions. From her early inspirations to her professional milestones, Vinnie discusses the challenges and triumphs of creating representational sculpture in today’s art world. She offers insights into her creative process, the importance of public art, and her mission to preserve African-American heritage and stories through figurative art. This episode is a must-listen for art enthusiasts, sculptors, collectors, and anyone interested in the transformative power of art. Dive deep into Vinnie Bagwell’s world and learn how sculpture can convey stories that words alone cannot.
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BIO
American Vinnie Bagwell is a sculptor and representational-figurative artist who has become a pioneer for African American women in her field. Her works of public art have become her raison d’etre as she strives to give a voice to underrepresented and enslaved Africans. Vinnie was born in Yonkers, NY in 1956 and grew up in the Town of Greenburgh with her sister. Her parents, Edward and Viola Bagwell were both artists in their spare time. As a child she showed a gift for drawing and developed a passion for painting in high school. She graduated from Morgan State University in Maryland with a BS in Psychology. Vinnie spent some time in car sales, which she said taught her communications skills. In 1993, she began sculpting completely self taught and with ambition and purpose it wasn’t long before she was making a name for herself. Vinnie’s first public artwork, “The First Lady of Jazz Ella Fitzgerald,” located at the Yonkers Metro-North/Amtrak train station was commissioned in 1996. She has since won numerous public-art commissions and awards around the United States. Connecticut commissioned a seven-foot bronze of Hartford educator Walter “Doc” Hurley, which is the first public artwork of a contemporary African American in the state. In 2012, Vinnie created a 24” bronze, “Liberté,” for the inaugural exhibition at the Freedom Rides Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She is also a journalist and co-authored the book: “A Study of African-American Life in Yonkers From the Turn of the Century”. Vinnie is the Co-founder, vice president, and executive director of the Enslaved Africans’ Rain Garden whose mission is to honor, dignify, and restore the humanity of enslaved Africans in America by transforming them from objects to subjects through art in a public garden in Yonkers. Vinnie lives in Yonkers with her miniature French Bulldog Rio. She has a daughter, Pierre, who is a mid-wife and artist. It was seeing her magnificent 7 foot statue of the abolitionist Sojourner Truth at the entrance to the Walkway Over the Hudson that introduced me to her work.
Host: Chris Stafford
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