A Celebration of ‘HARD WHITE’, Melanie Dugan’s newest novel.
Author Melanie Dugan will read from her most recent novel, Hard White, which reimagines the life of revolutionary painter Alice Neel. Dugan will be joined by painter and cultural critic Deborah Root for a discussion of Neel’s work. Question and Answer session will follow.
Reviewing Hard White in The Skeleton Press, Jocelyn Purdie, former director of the Union Gallery in Kingston writes, “This is a timely read given the current zeitgeist where hard fought for freedoms in society are under threat. It is a very compelling and beautifully crafted story about an exceptional artist.”
Melanie Dugan is a former resident of the County, and the author of five novels, including Sometime Daughter, Revising Romance, and Bee Summers.
Deborah Root is a painter and cultural critic whose works focus on the radical possibilities of painting, and the relationship between visual arts and cultural politics.
“When she died in 1984, Neel had a great number of masterpieces to her credit, a galaxy of masterpieces, I would say, that bear witness to the terror we usually turn away from, having no language for it, namely alienation, disconnect, love.” Curator, Hilton Als of Alice Neel in the Queer World Exhibition, David Zwirner, Los Angeles, 2024
Join us for the reading of HARD WHITE.
Books will be available for purchase.
Wednesday, April 16th, 2025 | 5:30-6:30pm
At Oeno Gallery, 2274 Prince Edward County Road 1, Bloomfield, ON K0K 1G0
For inquiries call 613-393-2216, or email info@oenogallery.com
Featured images: 'Self Portrait' (1980), 'Elizabeth in a Red Hat' (1984), 'Puerto Rican Girl on a Chair' (1949).