Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden

Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden
at the Birmingham Museum of Art
until April 20, 2025

The work of African American sculptor John Rhoden is on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art in an exhibit of some 50 pieces in bronze, wood, and stone. 

Eve (1957) - bronze - one of several pieces inspired by the  biblical story of Adam and Eve. It is said that the silhouette was inspired by his wife Richenda.

The show, the first comprehensive retrospective of Rhoden's work, has been on a US tour since its initial launch in October 2023 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. Founded in 1805, PAFA has the distinction of being the first art school and museum in the United States.

The institution has created a digital archive of his work to preserve his artistic legacy. You can check it out here. 

You can check out the show in person in Birmingham until April 20.

Determined to Be: The Sculpture of John Rhoden at the Birmingham Museum of Art

John Rhoden (1916-2001)

Rhoden was born in Birmingham, Alabama, where he went to Industrial High School. While he was still in high school, he met sculptor William Grant by chance. Rhoden happened to notice Grant's studio as he passed by the window. After stopping to talk, Grant eventually became his mentor. By the age of 16, John had completed a bust of the school's principal, and later namesake, Arthur Parker. 

John attended Talladega College from 1934 to 1936. There, he met painter Hale Woodruff, who encouraged him to go to New York City. He took Hale's advice, and connected with sculptors Augusta Savage and Richmond Barthé in NYC.

After enlisting in the Reserve Corps of the army in 1942 as a private, he created busts of members of the military, including high ranking generals. 

Blue Eyes, Indonesian Legend (1962) - Wood, completed while he was in Indonesia, and exhibited at the Whitney Museum in 1971 

Rhoden would go on after the war to attend the New School for Social Research, and Columbia University, winning prizes for his sculpture. At university, he met his wife, painter Richenda Phillips. 

He served as an art specialist for the US Department of State for 1955 to 1959, part of the International Cultural Exchange and Fair Participation Act of 1956. The experience included travelling to more than 20 different countries. From 1961 through 1963, he was in Indonesia setting up a bronze foundry at the Institut Teknologi in Bandung on a Rockefeller Foundation Grant.

After the years of travel, John and Richenda settled in New York City, where both taught as well as practising their respective arts. Rhoden exhibited his work at major institutions such as the Whitney Museum, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and the African American Museum in Philadelphia, along with completing major commissions that include a monumental bronze work for the Harlem Hospital. 

Through the 1970s and 1980s, Rhoden taught art classes at local public schools, as well as in his own studio.

Cat (1959) by John Rhoden - Bronze on a stone base

His Work

Rhoden's early work, and necessarily the many commemorative busts he completed, were created in a realistic style. Yet, even in these, there is evidence of the lyrical and detailed elements that became characteristic of his oeuvre. 

His later works are characterized by their sensuality and rhythmic approach to form, and influenced by the ideas and cultures he'd seen on his world travels. 

Safari (1958) by John Rhoden - Bronze 

Rhoden in Birmingham

It was the Birmingham Museum of Art that gave Rhoden his very first solo museum exhibition back in 1985, and some pieces from this current show will remain at the BMA as part of its permanent collection. 

Just a few blocks away from the Birmingham Museum of Art, Rhoden's sculpture of the Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth stands outside the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.

• Check out details of the BMA show here.

Bronze sculpture by John Rhoden