Curtain for Friends,

2015

<p>Over the past five decades, Edwards has produced abstract sculptures and installations that address issues of race, labor, and violence. This recent print foregrounds two prominent motifs and materials—chains and barbed wire—used by the artist. The composition recalls his massive <em>Curtain for William and Peter</em>, named for William T. Williams and Peter Bradley, two painters who shared a studio with Edwards in the late 1960s. When first displayed, <em>Curtain</em> had profound historical associations to younger African American artists, including David Hammons, who commented, "this was the first abstract piece of art that I saw that had a cultural value in it for black people. I didn’t think you could make abstract art with a message." </p>