bG Gallery is pleased to present The Melanin Deluxe. This exhibition celebrates Black artists who continue to expand and diversify the cannon. Curated by Kourtney Hunter, Deandré Santee, and Sung-Hee Son.
A portion of the proceeds from sales will go to benefit Artists for Trauma.
Curatorial Statement:
“For Melanin Deluxe, I selected works by contemporary black artists who I feel push to diversify the canon. Therefore, the featured will demonstrate an egalitarian respect for the artist, irrespective of their profile or race. This show will involve an awareness of the solid canons of traditional African American artistic expressions and thought, as well as the ability to rearrange found things, redirecting the “things” of whatever environment in which blacks are thrown, placed or trapped. As a curator, I am always looking for ways to dispel preconceived notions of what black art can be. Viewers will notice how the works are intentionally elevated on the walls so that the eye has to gaze upward to marvel. I also considered the ways in which black art has historically been considered through a sociological lens. Too often the works are historical and chronological or presented within an oppressive social context. I saw the need to create a forum that presented Afro American art that does not exclusively subscribe to any narrative. But rather concentrates on qualitative statements that exhibit new concepts and materials – or issues that are not necessarily exclusive to race”.
– Deandré Santee
Participating Artists:
Richard Bell, Jasmine Bobb, Makeba Kedem-DuBose, Donald Frazell, Crystal Paris, Phree, Will Raojenina, Chris Rocket, Mike Saijo, Jose Santana, Carrington “Eyes” Mitchell, Jesse Owens, Malik Willcot, and Ronald E. Wright II.
