Dilworth paints the people and places he loves on a monumental scale and in vivid color, and over the last eight years his style has evolved to include intricate layers of paint, paper, and fabric. The fabric and paper in many of Dilworth’s paintings originated from the homes and closets of his family and friends, and their inclusion acts as a material manifestation of memory, honoring and memorializing loved ones from his hometown of Lawrenceville, Virginia.

Not only does Dilworth portray his loved ones—family and chosen family—but he repeats their figures to capture different facets of their personalities. Portraying, Dilworth offers an intimate view of his subjects and their internal lives as well as a powerful corrective to how Black people have been historically represented in fine art and popular culture.

After decades as a painter and a professor of studio art at the University of Rhode Island, Dilworth has a profound understanding of paint and how it reacts, transforms, and moves, and that predictably has driven his interest in cloth. Fabric, and the challenges posed by learning to use a sewing machine, have become sources of deep creative inspiration for Dilworth in recent years. The works in this exhibition trace this evolution, presenting for the first time a collection of compositions made entirely of fabric.

Mark your calendars! We will celebrate the opening of Bob Dilworth: When I Remembered Home on Saturday, September 28, 2024, from 2 – 4 pm. This reception is free for FAM members or with admission.

This exhibition was organized by FAM Curator Emily Mazzola and FAM’s Terry and Eva Herndon Assistant Sarah Harper.