vanessa german Brings Healing Through Sculpture To South Jersey

Pittsburgh native and sculptor vanessa german will be making her solo debut in the Philadelphia-South Jersey region as her show “Breathe from the Diaphragm: our eyes are in our lungs” comes to Glassboro’s Rowan University from Sept. 2 to Nov. 1.

The show is based on the healing power of art. german’s work uses mineral crystals, beads, glass, and found objects to create figurative sculptures that are meant to transmit healing energy. The self-taught artist is well known for the monument to Marian Anderson in the 2023 “Beyond Granite” exhibition on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. 

“This is about thinking and sharing work that is healing and transformative in our care and connections,” said german. “How do you invite people into a space of healing while contending with a day of violence and hate? How do you go into a space to take your time to heal? It’s a transformative process, and you are in a relationship with a physiological aspect that will help you think through something.”

Creativity is a way to survive for german, who, as a Black woman, has experienced racism, homelessness, depression, the loss of her mother, who was a professional quiltmaker, and her grandfather, who died of syphilis as one of the subjects of the infamous Tuskegee experiment. 

“When you think about children, how they learn, experience, and interpret art and its materials, you come to understand that humans are fundamentally creative,” she says. “When we are creating, we are within the garden of our own imagination with a sense of space and time.” 

german’s work stems from African diasporic traditions, mainly from her Kongolese lineage in Central Africa. Some of her works use blue accents in the exhibit to complement the healing energies of their chromatic link to water. 

“There is something magnificent and perfect about water,” said german. “We can access what’s within us to heal from the physical, spiritual, and intellectual harm of an unjust world.”

While german understands the power of the healing arts, she knows there’s a bigger question to answer in how we live in a world that doesn’t want us to heal and believes people are confused about “why they’re alive.”

“If you live in a world that tells you that you are alive to work, perform, and prove your value through your work and the material culture that proves you have worked, that is a culture that separates you from the magic and mystery of being alive at all,” she said.

“It is a special condition to be a human being and be able to feel emotion while being a form of nature. But we have an awareness of that and that’s what separates us from other forms of nature.” 

Visitors will have a chance to walk through the exhibition with german during an opening reception for “Breathe from the Diaphragm” on Sept. 10, from 5 to 7 p.m. She will also lead a private workshop for students earlier in the day for Rowan University’s new Healing Arts course by Rowan University’s George Family Center for Healing Arts and Art Department and taught by Morgan Yacoe. The course will explore how creative practices like visual art, music, movement, theatre, and writing can support health, healing, and well-being. 

Rowan’s Art Gallery and Museum is located at 301 High Street West, Glassboro. The gallery exhibits new contemporary art exhibitions by professional artists every two to three months. All exhibitions and special events are open to the public with free admission Monday to Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.