Capital University

Schumacher Gallery To Unveil Recently Donated African Art Collection Friday, Jan. 12

By Nichole Johnson
Posted on 01/12/07
Schumacher Gallery To Unveil Recently Donated African Art Collection Friday, Jan. 12

The Schumacher Gallery will unveil selected pieces of African art gathered over decades of travel and collecting by central Ohio residents Donald Schreiber and Bonnie Fox during the gallery’s January exhibition, which opens today.

The 502-piece Schreiber-Fox Collection of African Art has been donated to The Schumacher Gallery and will be added to its permanent collection at the close of the exhibition.

Schreiber and Fox have collected African art out of their love for its artistic and functional contexts and concentrated their collecting in the following areas: ceremonial masks and headdresses, objects used in daily life (bowls, utensils, cups and boxes), figures, shields, grainery and other doors, stools and chairs, spears and headrests.

Materials used in creating the pieces consist primarily of wood, bronze, raffia and beads. The collection represents the work of many cultural groups from mostly Sub-Saharan Africa and shows a variety of styles found in the art of Africa.

“The Schumacher Gallery’s first obligation is to educate our students and also the greater community,” explained interim President Denvy Bowman who along with gallery director Cassandra Tellier, toured the gallery with Schreiber and Fox as they considered various universities nationwide for their collection’s permanent home. “Dr. Schreiber and Dr. Fox share our vision and commitment to education, and we’re thrilled that they agree their collection belongs at Capital.”

The Schreiber-Fox collection bolsters the Schumacher’s growing reputation in and beyond central Ohio for ethnic art, a distinction Tellier takes great pride in.

“We have consciously developed collecting areas that serve a purpose within the community, and the areas that are growing the fastest and used the most are our ethnic art collections. These are collections that people come specifically to Capital to see,” Tellier said.

The gallery’s Inuit collection is among the nation’s largest outside of New York and Chicago. Permanent collections of ethnic art at the gallery also include Oceanic, Mezzo-American and Native American art. View all of the gallery’s permanent collections.

The Schreiber-Fox exhibition coincides with the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Learning, a daylong celebration of the life and legacy of King that includes a keynote address, followed by workshops and community discussions.

The exhibition runs through Saturday, Feb. 17. An opening reception will be held from 5-7 p.m. today in the gallery.


About Dr. Donald Schreiber and Dr. Bonnie Fox
Dr. Donald Schreiber is a native of Louisville, Ky., a longtime resident of Central Ohio, and runs a medical practice in Gahanna. He began his adventure in collecting African Art nearly 25 years ago. In his many travels, he was drawn to museums, galleries, artists and private collections displaying art forms that were three-dimensional, seemingly primitive and simplistic in form. African art also represented for Schreiber many facets of the communities that created the objects; the art was created not only for art's sake, but for use in everyday functions, religious ceremonies and social life. This multi-layering of usage created limitless opportunities for learning more about the societies that created this interesting work.

Dr. Bonnie Fox, a longtime Bexley resident, holds a doctorate degree in adult education with a concentration in human resource management/organizational development in health care from The Ohio State University. After she married Schreiber in 1995, the two began to earnestly add pieces to their collection. They sought additional knowledge of the complexities of African art, including the study of how the art validates political authority, serves as protection from the spirit world, assists with spirit communication, and transmits cultural values and beliefs. Schreiber and Fox continued to study, with great fascination, how the objects produced in African communities both “reveal” uses and significance of specific African cultures, and often “conceal” important local secret meanings and contexts.

Schreiber and Fox donated their collection of African art to Capital University because of the excellent vision the university and gallery director Dr. Cassandra Tellier share for extending this important collection with the Central Ohio community. This venue will allow endless educational opportunities.  Linking their collection with an institution of higher learning was of great importance to Schreiber and Fox. Through continuing study and educational use of the works in the collection, they hope that individuals can begin to appreciate the differences and similarities of cultures and peoples, leading to greater understanding and harmony in this world.

Comments

No comments posted yet.

Post your comment

  • Name:
  • E-mail:
  • Title:
  • Comment:
Search
Capital University
1 College and Main, Columbus, OH 43209-2394
614-236-6011
Nichole Johnson
Director, Media Relations and Communications
Capital University
Public Relations
1 College and Main
Columbus, OH
43209-2394
Office: (614) 236-6945
Cell: (614) 440-9158