User:Gewoods/Ellsworth Ausby

Ellsworth Ausby
Ellsworth Ausby (born 1942-died March 6, 2011) was an African American artist (Moma). Ausby was also a professor at The School of Visual Arts in New York for several years.

Early Life and Education
Ellsworth Ausby was born in the town Portsmouth in Virginia (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021). He studied at the Pratt Institute as well as the School of Visual Arts in New York (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021). Ausby’s African American heritage played a significant role in his art works (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021). According to Eric Firestone Gallery, his early work explored Afrofuturism and had musical influences from Sun Ra (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021). For two years Ausby was given a grant for artists with which he created large scale public artistic creations. Some of these delved into other artistic disciplines, encompassing theater, music, and dance (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021). Much of his early work includes characterized biomorphic elements with geometric patterns (Eric Firestone Gallery, 2021).

Influences
Throughout his career, his artistic influences have spanned from Minimalism to Pop to Abstract Expressionism, while incorporating his own cultural elements.

Exhibitions
Throughout his career, Ausby’s artworks have been featured in many prestigious exhibits.

“New Black Artists”, Brooklyn Museum of Art (1969)

”African American Artists” New York and Boston Museum of Fine Arts (1970)

”Contemporary Black Artists in America,” Whitney Museum of American Art (1971)

Legacy
One of Ausby’s most famous works lives on in the Marcy Avenue Station. His large mural composed of stained glass created the composition A Space Odyssey, a reoccurring theme in his artworks.