An African-American collage artist, painter of geometric abstraction and educator, Al Loving was known for work that explored color and "vibrant counterpoint". He first gained wide public attention with hard-edged geometric paintings in a 1969 solo exhibition at the Whitney Museum of Art. His later works became more fluid and were multi-layered, acrylic painted constructions described in a 1974 "New York Times Review" as 'dynamically composed reliefs, wall pieces that energize the space around them, seemingly almost to be caught in the act of moving across the wall."

Alvin Demar Loving was born in Detroit. His father was an educator and part-time sign painter who became a Dean at the University of Michigan School of Education. His m...