Lula Mae Blocton is an American abstract artist and painter and emeritus professor of East Connecticut State University. A University of Michigan alumna, she is the second Black graduate to receive a fine arts degree from the university. Her work is exhibited throughout the United States and internationally.
Early life and education
Blocton was born 1947 in Ecorse, Michigan.Lula Mae Blocton: African American Experience Through Color and Pattern. The African American Student Project managed by the Bentley Historical Library. University of Michigan. https://africanamericanstudentproject.bentley.umich.edu/book/color-and-pattern/ Her parents were children of sharecroppers raised in rural Alabama, near Selma. Lula is one of seven children, and developed a passion for art in elementary and junior high school.
Blocton attended the University of Michigan and became friends with artist Janet Taylor Pickett, who encouraged Blocton to major in art. Blocton graduated in 1969, the second Black student in the university's history to receive a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.Stuck, Katelyn. Lula Mae Blocton: Painting with Pride. Lula Mae Blocton (BFA '69) reflects on her journey as one of the first Black students to receive a BFA at U-M. Stamps School of Art and Design. University of Michigan. June 19, 2023. https://stamps.umich.edu/news/lula-mae-blocton-painting-with-pride In 1972, she earned an MFA from Indiana University.Biography. Lula Mae Blocton. Margaret Thatcher Projects. https://www.thatcherprojects.com/artist/Lula%20Mae_Blocton/biography/
Career
Blocton started her career as a junior faculty member at Kean University in New Jersey. At Kean, she participated in the Drawing In Any Media (1973) and Faculty Exhibition (1974) shows.
In the early 1970s, Blocton joined "Black Woman in Visual Perspective," an artist collective that included Eleta Caldwell, Gladys Grader, Adrienne Hoard, Julia Miller, Janet Taylor Pickett, and Nette Forne Thomas.Artist Files, 1960 - 1987. New Jersey Women Artists' Slide Registry Collection, MC 1486. New Brunswick Special Collections. https://archives.libraries.rutgers.edu/repositories/11/archival_objects/40357 Accessed October 20, 2024.
In the mid-1970s, Blocton was on faculty at SUNY at New Paltz and was included in the Celebrate The Birth Of Women (1976) show and faculty exhibitions (1975 and 1977).
In 1988, Blocton joined the faculty of Eastern Connecticut State University. During her tenure, she created the Art Department, developed and designed the B.A. in Studio Art degree program, and served as chair of the visual arts and fine arts departments.Hastings, Traci. Hampton gallery features work of retired Eastern art professor. The Chronicle. March 14, 2020. https://www.easternct.edu/news/_documents/eastern-in-the-news/hampton-gallery-features-retired-eastern-art-professors-work-3-14-2020_03_2.pdf
A world traveller, Blocton was selected as a delegate for People to People, Citizen Ambassador Program of Art Educators which allowed her to travel to Egypt, Israel, and Turkey. In addition, she took academic and research trips to England, France, Holland, Kenya (1997), Peru, and Tanzania (1997).
In 2013, she retired as an emeritus professor of Eastern Connecticut State University.
Personal life
Blocton is married to artist Shirley Bernstein, a relationship that spans more than 50 years. In 2005, Blocton and Bernstein were legally married in Hampton, Connecticut.Civil Union Index, 2005. State of Connecticut. https://sortedbyname.com/download/USACT_CivilUnions_RTR/Reclaim_The_Records_-_Connecticut_civil_union_index_-_2005_to_2015/CT%20Civil%20Union%20Statewide%20Index%20-%20formatted%20copy%20with%20pages%20properly%20rotated.pdfBernstein Family Genealogy. Sortedbyname.com. https://sortedbyname.com/letter_b/bernstein/shirley_bernstein.html
Collections
Blocton's work appears in several permanent collections, including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, The Connecticut State University System, Eastern Connecticut State University, First Fairview Capital Inc., Indiana University, Prudential Life Insurance Company, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
Publications Blocton is featured in the monograph, Lula Mae Blocton: African American Experience through Color and Pattern (Palestine Books: 2022). The book was published to coincide with "Lula Mae Blocton, The First Two Decades, 1970-1990," show at Skoto Gallery, New York.
Her work and words have also appeared in: HERESIES: A Feminist Publication on Art and Politics, "to respond to the absence of women-of-color artists in the publication.;" Lesbian Art in America: A Contemporary History, Harmony Hammond, Rizzoli International Publication; African American Woman Artists: A Critical Assessment; The Best of Colored Pencil 2, by Vera Curnow, Rockport Publishers, MA; The Best of Colored Pencil 3, Rockport Publishers, MA; Creative Color Pencil, by Vera Curnow, Rockport Publishers, MA; The Connecticut Review, Published by the Connecticut State University System; Gumbo Ya Ya: Anthology of Contemporary African-American Women Artists, Midmarch Arts Press, NYC; Creative Inspirations, Rockport Publishers, MA; and Best of Colored Pencil 5, Ribbon Self-Portrait, Rockport Publishers, MA.Lula Mae Blocton. Curriculum Vitae. https://lulablocton.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Lula_CV.pdf
Exhibitions
Solo Lula Mae Blocton: Twisted Forms, Transparent Bands, 1981–1996. Skoto Gallery, New York, 2023-2024Lula Mae Blocton: Twisted Forms, Transparent Bands, 1981-1996. Nov 11, 2023 – Jan 27, 2024. Skoto Gallery. ArtRabbit. https://www.artrabbit.com/events/lula-mae-blocton-twisted-forms-transparent-bands-19811996 Lula Mae Blocton: The Art Show, 2023, "a selection of abstract paintings and drawings from Lula Mae Blocton's Twisted Forms, Transparent Band series, 1981-96," Park Avenue Armory, New YorkLula Mae Blocton: The Art Show, Park Avenue Armory, November 1–5, 2023. Skoto Gallery. https://skotogallery.viewingrooms.com/viewing-room/31-lula-mae-blocton-the-art-show-2023-organized-by-the-adaa/ Lula Mae Blocton, The First Two Decades, 1970–1990, Skoto Gallery, New York, 2022Lula Mae Blocton, The First Two Decades, 1970-1990, Skoto Gallery, New York. April 30-June 30, 2022. https://skotogallery.viewingrooms.com/viewing-room/25-lula-mae-blocton-the-first-two-decades-1970-1990/ Lula Mae Blocton, Top Shelf Gallery, Fletcher Memorial Library, Eastern Connecticut State University, 2020 Bands of Light, Lula Mae Blocton, Pegasus Gallery, Middlesex, Community College, Middletown, CT, 2002 The Pump House Gallery, Black and White Equal Solo Exhibition, Hartford, CT, 1995 University-Wide Gallery of the Arts, Solo Exhibition, New Britain, 1995 Lula Mae Blocton, Solo Exhibition, Soho Center for the Visual Artists, New York, NY, 1978 Lula Mae Blocton, Solo Exhibition, Mahopac, NY, 1987 MFA Thesis Exhibition, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1972
Group Art after Stonewall, 1969 –1989, a major exhibition documenting the Stonewall riots' visual impact on the LGBTQ movement.Turner, Elisa. Bittersweet and Radical: Art after Stonewall, 1969 –1989. ArtSpeak. FIU. https://artspeak.fiu.edu/profiles/art-after-stonewall-1969-1989-2/ The travelling show was presented at Grey Art Gallery, New York University (2019); Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (2019); The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU in Miami (2019–2020), and the Columbus Museum of Art (2020).Press Release.Art after Stonewall, 1969-1989. Feminine Moments. March 16, 2020. https://www.femininemoments.dk/blog/art-after-stonewall-1969-1989-2/ Hoping for Clear Skies, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY, 2017 1970's: 9 Women and Abstraction, Curated by Barbara Stehle, Zurcher Gallery, New York, NY, 2016Stehle, Barbara. Exhibition News: 1970s / 9 Women and Abstraction. September 8, 2016. Hermine Ford. https://www.hermineford.com/blog/2016/11/1970s-9-women-and-abstraction-curated-by-dr-barbara-stehle
Art Connections 11, Featured Artist, George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 2015 Lesbian Herstory Archives' 40th Anniversary, Johannes Vogt Gallery, West 26th Street, New York, NY, 2013 Forget-Me-Nots, Hygienic Art Galleries, New London, CT, 2011 Hidden in Plain Sight, Black Women in Visual Perspective, 35th Anniversary Exhibit, Maplewood Arts Center, Maplewood, NJ, 2010 Heritage Patterns, Langston Hughes Community Library and Cultural Center, Queens, NY, 2008 (an)Other Show, Selected works by Artists of Color from Connecticut State University Faculty, New Britain, CT, 2008 Building Consensus, ECSU Visual Arts Department Faculty Exhibition, Akus Gallery, Willimantic, CT, 2008 Invitational, Signature Showcase, The Cornell Museum of Art and Art History, Delray Beach, FL, 2006 That's A Whole 'Notha Story, Art in the Atrium, Morristown, NJ, 2006 62nd Annual Connecticut Artists Exhibition, The Slater Memorial Museum, CPSA, 2005 12th International Juried Exhibition, The Jay Etkin Gallery, Memphis, TN, 2005 That's A Whole 'Notha Story, Art in the Atrium, Morristown, NJ, 2004 Invitational, Mirror Mirror; Self Portrait, Self Image, The William Benton Museum of Art, Storrs, CT, 2004 Drawing and Graphics 2003, International Exhibition, The Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY, 2003 Contemporary Art influenced by African Culture, The Illinois Institute of Art Chicago, Chicago, IL, 2003 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 91st Annual Exhibition, Mystic Art, Association Gallery, Mystic, CT, 2002 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 90th Annual Exhibition, The Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT, 2001 Drawings on Life, Lula Mae Blocton, Quinebaug Valley Community College, Danielson, CT, 2001 CSU Faculty Art Exhibition, Ruth Haas Library, Western Connecticut State University, Danbury, CT, 2001 CSU Faculty Exhibition, J. Eugene Smith Library, Willimantic, CT, 2000 Color Passages, The Promenade Gallery at the Bushnell, Hartford, CT, 1999 CSU Faculty Exhibition, New Library, ECSU, Willimantic, CT, 1998 5th Colored Pencil Society of America (CPSA) International Exhibition, Chicago, IL, 1997 68th Annual Connecticut Women Artists Juried Show, West Hartford, CT, 1997 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 85th Annual Juried Show, Hartford, CT, 1996 ADA: Women and Information Technology, Artemisia Gallery, Chicago, IL, 1996 CSU Faculty Exhibition, Chen Art Center, New Britain, CT, 1996 International Colored Pencil Exhibition, Art At The Powerhouse, Cleveland, 1995 The World's Women On-Line! Video/Internet Gallery, An interactive electronic network of images by women artists globally, Computing Commons Gallery, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 1995 United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing, China, 1995 CTCSU Faculty Exhibition, Chen Art Center, CCSU, New Britain, CT, 1995 Back to the Motherland: Exploring the African Diaspora, QVCTC, Danielson, CT, 1995 Beyond Africa: Cultural Influences in American Art, Juried Show, Greensboro, NC, 1994 Through the Eyes of Our Sisters, Invitational, CRT's Craftery Gallery, Hartford, CT, 1994 States of the Art: National Juried Show of Women Artists, Curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, Celebrating the 21st Anniversary of AIR Gallery, New York, NY, 1993 Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts 82nd Annual Juried Exhibition, The Slater Memorial Museum, Norwich, CT, 1993 International Juried Colored Pencil Exhibition, Seattle, WA, 1993 Faculty Exhibition, Akus Gallery, ECSU, Willimantic, CT, 1993 And This is Now, Black Art In The 1990s, Juried Traveling Exhibition, Samuel S. T. Chen Art Center, CCSU, (New Britain, CT) and CRT's Craftery Gallery and The Legislative Office Building (Hartford, CT), 1992 Artworks, Juried National Exhibition, Hartford, CT, 1991 Wimminfest Invitational, Jonson Gallery at the University of New Mexico, 1991 3rd Annual CSU Art Faculty Exhibition, CCSU, New Britain, CT, 1991