Melvin Edwards: The Journey of a Sculptor and the Poetics of Relation

This article aims to introduce Melvin Edwards’s career and explore, through his work in public art, his ongoing dialogue between his global black consciousness and conceptual art. Edwards is a pioneer and prominent artist in the history of contemporary African American art and American sculpture. He was born in 1937 in Houston during segregation. Edwards is one of the few African American artists who has a particularly strong connection with Africa beyond his African origins.