Creative Hue exhibit reveals insights into artists' livesBy Matt Surtel msurtel@batavianews.com
PERRY -- Deep, diverse and eclectic.
It's impossible to peg "Attributes of Color" to a single work or image -- just like the artists who created them.
The exhibit showcasing the Rochester-based Creative Hue artist group will open with a reception 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Arts Council For Wyoming County's gallery on 31 South Main St.
It will show art from an African and Caribbean perspective.
"Even if you look in art books -- even if it's American art -- you'll never see an African-American artist in that realm," said Terry Chaka, the group's president, on Tuesday.It's impossible to peg "Attributes of Color" to a single work or image -- just like the artists who created them.
The exhibit showcasing the Rochester-based Creative Hue artist group will open with a reception 8:30 p.m. Friday at the Arts Council For Wyoming County's gallery on 31 South Main St.
It will show art from an African and Caribbean perspective.
Creative Hue is Rochester's chapter of the National Conference of Artists. Established in 1959, the group is one of the most active organizations of African-American artists nationwide.
It includes artists from across Western New York, in genres ranging from oil paintings and photography, to found art, jewelry and sculpture.
"Even within our own communities, a lot of times people think that artists are somebody else -- it's not something that we do -- when in traditional culture, whether it was African or Caribbean, that was something you just did," Chaka said.
"(Art) was a part of anything that was functional, whether it was something you wore, or the dishes, or whatever it was," she continued. "It had some sort of decorative element to it, and the artisans were looked on as being very, very special people."
That sensibility can be lost sometimes. But it still exists in multiple, unique forms, as the exhibition demonstrates -- as individual as the artists themselves.
"Our art is a little bit different in that it generally tells a story," Chaka said. "It's never 'art for art's sake', as people say."
Much of the art will depend on the artist's roots, she said. What one person sees as ordinary will take on a greater interest and life, through the perspective of somebody who knows it intimately.
"It's a different perspective, so a lot of times we have a different perspective on life," Chaka said. "I think that would be the same with any ethnic group."
What visitors to the ACWC may notice -- among some hallmarks -- are a vividness, in terms of color and perspective, that reaches all the work.
That can go for Chaka's paintings, or Omobowale Ayorinde's photos and imagery, which explores detachment.
Artists in the show will also include mixed media artists Mattie Alleyne and Shawn Dunwoody; metal sculptress Valeria Cray-Dihaan; fiber artists Paulette Davis; water color artist Sherri Davis; Bruce Jackson's creative matting; Faruk Kaiyum's jewelry; Cheryl Olney's wall sculptures; Frances Hare's Quilts; and Dunstan Luke and Richmond Futch's paintings.
The reception will also feature music by acclaimed virtuoso guitarist Miche Fambro, accompanied by ACWC Executive Jacqueline Hoyt, who's a musician herself.
"Attributes of Color" runs through July 16. Gallery Hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays. Call the ACWC at (585) 237-3517 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (585) 237-3517 end_of_the_skype_highlighting for more information.
