Exhibitions and Conversations

George Clinton
Cloaked in a Cloud, Disguised in the Sky

September 26, 2024 - January 27, 2025 | SCAD Museum of Art | 601 Turner Blvd., Savannah, GA

Opening Weekend Featured Programming :

Thursday, September 26 | SCAD Museum of Art | 601 Turner Blvd., Savannah
5:00 PM | Jacob Gwendolyn Knight Lawrence Lecture with George Clinton
6:00 PM | Exhibition opening celebration

Friday, September 27 | Lucas Theatre | 32 Abercorn Street, Savannah
7:00 PM | George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic concert

Press Release

The SCAD Museum of Art welcomes legendary funk musician, George Clinton, to Savannah for his solo exhibition, Cloaked in a Cloud, Disguised in the Sky, on view September 26, 2024 – January 27, 2025.

While on tour in the 1990s, Clinton started applying his creativity to painting and drawing, developing a surreal, hallucinogenic language that riffs on the characters and mythology of P-Funk. Fully resonant with the feeling of funk, Clinton’s body of work epitomizes the inventiveness of his musical practice. His singular visual style centers on improvisation, defying expectations and societal norms with an imaginative Afrofuturist message. In addition to exhibiting Clinton’s paintings and drawings, the experiential installation includes costumes, album covers, and a newly fabricated re-creation of the Mothership, an essential fixture of the cosmic mythology that Clinton has used in performances over the course of his career.

“The SCAD Museum of Art is incredibly honored to present the first institutional exhibition of fine art by George ‘Dr. Funkenstein’ Clinton, a cultural icon who has inspired generations with his unbridled originality, maximalist style, and innovative experimentation across genres and media. Radical and uninhibited, Clinton’s idiosyncratic approach to painting exemplifies his unflagging commitment to artistic freedom. This multifaceted exhibition is a revelation and a joyful invitation to all.”
Daniel S. Palmer |SCAD Museum of Art, Chief Curator
“As an artist, I have always looked to the next generation for creativity and inspiration. I am thrilled to have the opportunity to share my practice at the SCAD Museum of Art. This is an institution that is renowned for its multidisciplinary approach to art and design in a city that also has a rich musical history.”
George Clinton

George Clinton (b. 1941, Kannapolis, N.C.) is a cultural icon whose contributions to the arts span seven decades. He revolutionized music through his band Parliament-Funkadelic and pioneered new fashion and costumes for his onstage performances before becoming a renowned visual artist. Clinton’s work presents a multidimensional perspective on the Black experience, inviting us all to enter a world that is fantastical and optimistic.

This solo exhibition at SCAD is the continuation of four years of amplifying Clinton’s extraordinary career as a visual artist. Since 2020, Spring McManus Art Advisory has been organizing major exhibitions at art galleries and institutions including the Oakland Museum of California; George Washington Carver Museum, Austin, TX; National Museum of African American Music, Nashville, TN; Wayne State University, Detroit; Spillman Blackwell, New Orleans; Jupiter Contemporary, Miami; and Jeffrey Deitch, Los Angeles. Clinton’s Mothership is on permanent display at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History Culture, Washington, DC.

“George Clinton is an artist who has broken boundaries across mediums, forging new movements and genres from Afrofuturism to Hip Hop. This is the first time that Clinton will have the opportunity to show a comprehensive view into his creative process.”
Spring McManus

George Clinton: The Rhythm of Vision

November 5 - December 23, 2022 | Jeffrey Deitch Los Angeles | 7000 Santa Monica Boulevard, Los Angeles

Opening Reception : November 4, 2022 | 5 - 7 pm

One with real eyes realize that the rhythm of vision is a dancer
And when he dance it’s always on the one
Goin’ down you could see sounds of silence
Primal heartbeats could be seen with the naked eye

Mr. Wiggles, Parliament, 1978

Past

George Clinton's Boundless: The Manifestation of Self Expression

September 23 - November 20, 2022 | National Museum of African American Music, Nashville TN | 510 Broadway, Nashville, TN

Grooves from the Deep and the Space Math of George Clinton

July 9 - 31, 2022 | Cë Gallery | 516 Houston St, Nashville, TN

George-Clinton-seated-with-Clarence-Edward-at-Cecret-by-CE-Gallery-in-the-Exhibition-space-July-6-2022-1.jpg

George Clinton: Light Years

May 17 - June 17, 2022 | NeueHouse Madison Square | 110 E 25th St, New York, NY

NeueHouse Opening Reception: Artist Talk and Performance

May 17th 7:30pm | George Clinton, in conversation with DJ Spooky, will discuss the intersection of art and music and the resurgence of the Afrofuturist movement.

Grooves from the Deep and the space math of George Clinton

March 10 - June 19 2022 | George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center | 1165 Angelina St, Austin, TX

George Clinton Roundtable Discussion | Soho House Austin

Friday March 11th | George Clinton in conversation with pop phenomenon JoJo, her musical director Nick Clark, and Spring. followed by a DJ set and medley featuring SoulClap.