Ed Love (1936-1999)

Love was born in Los Angeles and studied at California State University (LA), receiving a MFA. He also studied abroad at the University of Uppsla, Sweden as a post-graduate fellow. He eventually became a professor at Howard University, teaching sculpture (1969-1987) and from 1987-1990 he served as Dean of Visual Arts at the New World School of Arts, Miami. In 1990, he became a professor and director of undergraduate studies at Florida State University.

Love’s work in metal is influenced by jazz, traditional African sculpture, and ancient Egyptian mythology. His work was recently included in an exhibition at the California African American Museum titled L.A. Blacksmith which ran from September 10, 2019 through February 16, 2020. The exhibition featured "historic Los Angeles metal sculpture that signifies the durability of West African metalsmithing aesthetics to contemporary explorations of iron and steel alloys, bronze, copper, tin, aluminum and gold." LA Blacksmith

Ed Love exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, solo, 1976; Studio Museum in Harlem; California State University, LA; University of Massachusetts; Washington Project for the Arts; University of Maryland, and elsewhere. His work was also included in Choosing: An Exhibit of Changing Perspectives in Modern Art and Art Criticism by Black Americans, 1925-1985, sponsored by the Phillip Morris Companies (Jacqueline Fonvielle-Bontemps, curator, 1986.)

Similar examples of his work are illustrated in University of the District of Columbia Special Art Collection, 1984, p. 52-53.