Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington

By August 04, 2026
Jonathan Green, Time to Rejoice, 2005; oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches; on loan from an anonymous collector. Photograph courtesy Cameron Art Museum, © Jonathan Green.
Installation view of Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, 2026. Photograph by Day Camposeco, courtesy Cameron Art Museum.

In Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Jonathan Green’s vibrant paintings serve as both a celebration of culture and a poignant meditation on history and community. Green, a native of Gardens Corner, South Carolina, draws deeply from his Gullah Geechee heritage to create works that evoke the lived experience of his forebears.

The exhibition brings together a selection of Green’s paintings in conversation with traditional Gullah Geechee crafts, including sweetgrass baskets, quilts, and Adinkra printed cloth. Green’s paintings are a fusion of contemporary style and cultural history, and often feature dynamically colored cloth and beautifully designed craft objects. They are complemented by examples of Gullah Geechee basketry, a craft born out of necessity on coastal plantations and passed down through the generations, the vibrant quilting tradition, and the West African Adinkra symbols that link Gullah Geechee expression to deep ancestral knowledge.

Jonathan Green’s signature style and imagery emphasize work, love, belonging, and spirituality. His compositions often depict community rituals and familial scenes, everyday scenes rendered with dignity and grace. Green trained at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago; his work blends contemporary style with images and symbols drawn from his southern heritage. This exhibition highlights the museum’s commitment to the presentation and preservation of contemporary art of the Southeast.

from the exhibition text

Jonathan Green, Private Words, 2005; oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches; on loan from an anonymous collector. Photograph courtesy Cameron Art Museum, © Jonathan Green.
Janie Hunter, Gullah Dolls, 1990; cotton fabric; courtesy the Collection of the Charleston Museum of Charleston, South Carolina. Photograph courtesy of Cameron Art Museum.
Installation view of Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, 2026. Photograph by Day Camposeco, courtesy Cameron Art Museum.
Sister Elizabeth Coakley, Missionary Basket, 1986; sweetgrass, pine needles, palmetto leaf; courtesy South Carolina State Museum. Photograph courtesy of Cameron Art Museum.
Jonathan Green, Cherished Time, 2007; oil on canvas, 48 x 36 inches; on loan from an anonymous collector. Photograph courtesy Cameron Art Museum, © Jonathan Green.
Installation view of Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, 2026. Photograph by Day Camposeco, courtesy Cameron Art Museum.
Mary Jackson, Cobra Basket with Handle, 1980; sweetgrass, bulrush, palmetto, and pine needles; on loan from the Carolina Art Association/the Gibbes Museum of Art, Charleston, South Carolina. Photograph courtesy Cameron Art Museum © Mary Jackson.
Installation view of Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green at Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, 2026. Photograph by Day Camposeco, courtesy Cameron Art Museum.

Rooted in Memory: The Gullah Geechee Vision of Jonathan Green is on view through January 24, 2027.

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