The University of Alabama Gallery is proud to present the exhibition, January 9 – February 23, 2023. There will be a reception for the artist during Tuscaloosa’s First Friday Art Walk, February 3, from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Raised in Chicago, artist Roscoe Hall has deep Alabama roots. Hall’s background and longtime skill set are deeply entrenched in the culinary world of the South — his grandfather was John “Big Daddy” Bishop, founder of Tuscaloosa’s iconic Dreamland Bar-B-Que. Hall, who has earned his own cooking accolades (most recently as a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef) is also a rising star in the art world. His layered, mixed media paintings bring together these aspects of his life like two houses on the same street.
“This exhibition is a homecoming for Roscoe Hall,” said Daniel White, director of The University of Alabama Gallery. “He was born into the Bishop family, well known for the restaurant that put the family and Tuscaloosa on the map. Roscoe is a painter as well as a noted chef, and with these seeming opposites coming together, the title Two Houses seemed perfect for this show. Originally the title of a painting Hall has since sold, the image of two houses is a recurring motif in his paintings and a theme in his life: his two loves – of making food and making art.”
Roscoe Hall lives and works in Birmingham, Alabama. He holds an MA in art history from Savannah College of Art and Design and a BFA from the University of San Diego. Recent solo exhibitions include Angola: Works in Response, at Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment, Huntsville, Alabama; Roscoe Hall: Government Promises, at James Barron Art in Kent, Connecticut; and Jerusalem Heights, at Scott Miller Projects in Birmingham, Alabama. His work was selected for group exhibitions including Alabama Triennial, and A la Carte: A Visual Exploration of Our Relationship with Food, both at the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts, Birmingham. Hall’s work is in several permanent collections including the Abroms-Engel Institute for the Visual Arts and the Birmingham (Alabama) Museum of Art. He has been the resident artist and culinary instructor at Jones Valley Teaching Farm and he is the recipient of a 2022 Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant for mixed media. Roscoe Hall is represented by Scott Miller Projects in Birmingham.
The University of Alabama Gallery is an essential part of the education and development of UA students and our community. Admission to the gallery is free. The gallery is located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center at 620 Greensboro Avenue in Tuscaloosa. It is open Monday through Friday, 9 am-4 pm and First Fridays 12 noon-7 pm. Have questions or need assistance? Call (205) 345-3038.
For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in art history and studio art, visit our Degree Programs page.