Exhibition Reception: Saturday, September 23, 2023
5-7:00 p.m. – Members and General Public
Event is free for SVMA members, and $10 for non-members.

Pre-registration is required to attend this event. Registration closes on Sept 22 at 5:00 p.m.

Richard Mayhew: Inner Terrain, a rare and timely exhibition of the artwork of Richard Mayhew (b. 1924), featuring two dozen paintings that speak to American arts, culture, and history. Mayhew’s African American, Shinnecock, and Cherokee-Lumbee ancestries inform his dreamlike landscapes, which are saturated in vibrant colors, including shades of red and burnt earth pigments that suggest, as the artist has said, “blood in the soil.”

Mayhew was recently featured in a New York Times article that also mentioned SVMA’s upcoming exhibition.



In 1963, Mayhew had already embarked on a continuous search for an imaginative mindset when he joined Spiral, a think-tank of Black artists in New York City that became instrumental for its opportunities to exchange ideas and develop networks, though its gatherings only lasted from 1963 to 1966. Mayhew’s early engagement in Spiral came to symbolize for him a starting point for a creative continuum that flows outward perpetually, embracing all directions while also moving forward.



Mayhew studied in Italy and taught at the Brooklyn Museum, the Art Students League, Smith College, San Jose State University, and Pennsylvania State University, where he retired as professor emeritus in 1991. As he approaches his centennial birthday, he remains an active painter developing an inventive mind and continuing to improvise his techniques.



“It is an honor to co-curate this exhibit of the masterful artwork of Richard Mayhew,” states Co-Curator Kajahl. “I met Richard Mayhew when I was beginning my artistic journey, and his mentorship and guidance were instrumental. He suggested that I study abroad and that I move to New York City, both of which opened up my artistic opportunities. Richard also challenged me to push the boundaries of traditional art forms, and to do so by exploring and trusting my creative inner sensibility.”