Artist Spotlight: Faith Ringgold

Top Image: “The Flag is Bleeding #2 (American Collection #6)”, 1997. Acrylic on canvas, painted and pieced border.

Faith Ringgold is an American artist born in 1930. As the youngest of three children born to a fashion designer mother and a storyteller father, Ringgold’s creativity was fostered since she was born. She explored visual arts partially due to her childhood asthma and eventually received a degree in art education. However, this degree was not by choice as her first choice, a degree in art, was not open for women at this time.

This setback did not keep her down for long. Ringgold explored many mediums throughout her long career, like painting and printmaking. However, Ringgold would mostly be known for her textile works. Following a long legacy of fabric artists in her matriarchal line, Ringgold learned about the legacy of quilts and their importance in African-American history. Just like the quilts of old, Ringgold’s quilts are more than just functional and are embedded with stories of the past and the present. Today, Ringgold is considered one of the most prominent artists of the civil rights era.

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