W 125th St – Studio Museum: The Bearden Project

It’s the season for giving thanks, so it is a perfect time to visit The Studio Museum in Harlem for The Bearden Project. The exhibition is a tribute to collage artist Romare Bearden on the 100th anniversary of his birthday. It presents a range of contemporary artists working in a wide variety of media who were challenged to create work inspired by Bearden’s life and legacy. Of course, next to Bearden’s work these tributes barely hold a candle, which only adds to the charm of the project.

Romare Bearden, Prelude to Farewell, 1981

Leonard Drew: "In 1982, my teacher and mentor Jack Whitten introduced me to Romare Bearden. It was an eventful day. A moment of clarity. It was like a door opened and I stepped through it."

Leonardo Drew, Untitled, 2011

John Outerbridge: "Bearden at times could be a most serious humorist, with a backlog of skillfully rendered drawings, quick sketch notes of merit—loads of original archival material that most focused collectors would give up land for. Romare created, in the genre of the Harlem Renaissance, tales of folksy customs that stick."

John Outterbridge, Godfather, 2011

After the museum, have lunch at Red Rooster Harlem. The reviews have been mixed since Marcus Samuelsson opened this comfort food joint, but you could make a very nice lunch of the delicious corn bread with tomato jam ($5) and the spiced pumpkin turnip soup ($11). On the other hand, one block away, there’s Sylvia's, which has been serving up tasty fried chicken and other southern staples since 1962. It's an influential piece of Harlem, just like Bearden himself, and the lunch special is only $8.95 for a main and two sides. What do you think: "authentic" or authentic?

Ingredients:

Venue: The Studio Museum in Harlem

Artists: Romare Bearden, Leonard Drew, John Outterbridge

Streets: W 125th Street & Lenox Ave

Eats: Red Rooster Harlem, Sylvia's

Map: