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Terrell Tilford Biography
Terrell Tilford, who holds a Masters
of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of
the Arts, discovered that he had a talent for painting during his
undergraduate years at U.C. Berkeley, where he studied African American
History and Theatre Arts. After viewing a traveling exhibit of Romare
Bearden's work, he was compelled to paint. Transfixed by Bearden's work,
amazed by his use of raw materials to create urban landscapes and by his
ability to recreate on canvas the rhythms of the rural South, Tilford
felt an intimate connection to Bearden's subjects - grandmothers,
children, old men congregating, jazzmen jamming. This would serve as his
first lessons. Bearden’s artwork catalyzed Tilford’s latent
desire to express himself through painting. Since that time, Tilford has
created over two hundred works of art in various medium, from oil and
acrylic paints to a variety of materials such as foam boards, metal,
granite and newspaper.
Though his acting career keeps him busy, Terrell
Tilford spends a significant amount of time collecting
art, consulting, promoting artists and producing art shows through his
company, the Tilford Art Group (TAG). Despite his reluctance to show his
own work publicly, he does accept art commissions, most recently for the
2003 Los Angeles V-Day Celebration. “I spend a great deal of time
meticulously collecting and searching for talent. I have works by street
artists, friends who do not call themselves artists, recognized Masters
such as Elizabeth Catlett, Charles White, Hale Woodruff, Margaret
Burroughs, William Tolliver and Addison Scurlock, but also a multitude of
works by emerging artists including Richard Wyatt, Mark Steven
Greenfield, Francks François Deceus, Keba Konte,
José Ramirez, Cedric Smith, Delphine
Fawundu, Memphis, Kevin Cole, Willie Torbert, Jackson-Collins
and Bryan L. Tilford. Painting
is my meditation; promoting artists is my gift.”
Terrell Tilford and his wife,
actress Victoria Platt Tilford, divide their time between Los Angeles and New York.
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