Lula Mae Blocton

Lula Mae Blocton is an American abstract artist and painter and emeritus professor of East Connecticut State University. A University of Michigan alumna, she is the second Black graduate to receive a fine arts degree from the university. Her work is exhibited throughout the United States and internationally.

Early life and education

Blocton was born 1947 in Ecorse, Michigan. Her parents were children of sharecroppers

Career

Blocton started her career as a junior faculty member at Kean University in New Jersey.

A world traveller, Blocton was selected as a delegate for People to People, Citizen Ambassador Program of Art Educators which allowed her to travel to Egypt, Israel, and Turkey.

Collections

Blocton’s work appears in several permanent collections, including the Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, Buffalo AKG Art Museum, Columbus Museum of Art, The Connecticut State University System, Eastern Connecticut State University, First Fairview Capital Inc., Indiana University, Prudential Life Insurance Company, and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.

Exhibitions

Solo Lula Mae Blocton: Twisted Forms, Transparent Bands, 1981-1996. Skoto Gallery, New York, 2023-2024 Lula Mae Blocton: The Art Show, 2023, “a selection of abstract paintings and drawings from Lula Mae Blocton’s Twisted Forms, Transparent Band series, 1981-96,” Park Avenue Armory, New York Lula Mae Blocton, The First Two Decades, 1970-1990, Skoto Gallery, New York, 2022 Lula Mae Blocton, Top Shelf Gallery, Fletcher Memorial Library, Eastern Connecticut State University, 2020 The travelling show was presented at Grey Art Gallery, New York University (2019); Leslie-Lohman Museum of Gay and Lesbian Art (2019); The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU in Miami 2019-2020), and the Columbus Museum of Art (2020). Hoping for Clear Skies, Margaret Thatcher Projects, New York, NY, 2017

Art Connections 11, Featured Artist, George Segal Gallery, Montclair State University, Montclair, NJ, 2015 Soho 20 Invitational, New York, NY, 1978 Postcard Size International Traveling Exhibition, Arte Giera in Bologna, Italy, 1978 Women Artists ’78, Graduate Center City University of New York, NY, 1978 Faculty Exhibition, SUNY at New Paltz, NY, 1977 Fourteen Women Artists, Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA, 1977 Perspectives On The Black Experience, Indiana University, Bloomington IN, 1977 Celebrate The Birth Of Women, SUNY at New Paltz, NY, 1976 Salute to ’76, Gallery Group Exhibition, Martha Jackson Gallery, New York, NY, 1976 Painting Faculty Exhibition, SUNY at New Paltz, NY, 1975 Invitational Studio 81, Jersey City, NJ, 1974 Faculty Exhibition, Kean College of New Jersey, Union, NJ, 1974 Black Women in Visual Perspectives, Newark, NJ, 1973 Drawing In Any Media, Kean College of New Jersey, Union, NJ, 1973 Black Art Educator’s Painting Exhibit, Indiana University Museum, Bloomington, IN, 1972