¾È ÂÈ - rawdetroit.org · Italy. Tiff Massey’s work has been widely ... Gallery and 1xRun,...
Transcript of ¾È ÂÈ - rawdetroit.org · Italy. Tiff Massey’s work has been widely ... Gallery and 1xRun,...
A CREATIVE QUEST
20+ DetroitBlack Artists
July
2020
Learn more about the art ists behind the murals in Eastern
Market and around Detroit . These 20+ art ists have created
artwork that has t ransformed the market while tel l ing a story.
pu
blish
ed
by
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Tiff Massey is an interdisciplinary artist from
Detroit, Michigan. She holds an MFA in
metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of
Art. Her work, inspired by African standards
of economic vitality, includes both large-
scale and wearable sculptures, music and
performance.
She uses contemporary observances of class
and race through the lens of an African
diaspora, combined with inspiration drawn
from her experience in Detroit.Tiff Massey
is a 2015 Kresge Arts in Detroit Fellowship
awardee, as well as a two-time John S. and
James L. Knight Foundation’s Knight Arts
Challenge winner, and the 2019 recipient of
Art Jewelry Forum’s Susan Beech Mid-
Career Artist Grant.
Massey has participated in numerous
international residencies including Red Bull
in Detroit, Ideas City (in Detroit, Athens,
Greece and Arles, France) hosted by The
New Museum of New York and with the
Volterra-Detroit Foundation in Volterra,
Italy. Tiff Massey’s work has been widely
exhibited in both national and international
museums and galleries.
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TiffMassey
F E A T U R E S
Website: https://www.tiffmassey.comInstagram: @tiff_masseyMural Location: 2534 Market St
Detroit-bred, Illustrative fine artist Sydney
G. James began her career as an ad agency
Art Director after earning her BFA with an
illustration concentration from the College
of Creative Studies in 2001. In 2004, Sydney
relocated to Los Angeles expanding her
career as a visual artist in the film and
television industry, earned a masters degree
in secondary art education and evolved her
commercial artistry to a life as a fine artist.
Sydney returned to Detroit in 2011 and
since has become one of the leading creative
change agents. By participating in a
multitude of community arts projects,
Sydney extended her career to mural
painting. She has completed murals in
Detroit, New Orleans, Atlanta, Los Angeles,
Honolulu and Ghana. Sydney takes on every
project with the intent to evoke emotion in
her viewers and hopefully cause positive
change.
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SydneyJames
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://www.sydneygjames.com/Instagram: @sydneygjamesMural Locations: - Top: 3400 Russell St- Middle: 2638 Orleans St - Bottom: 1532 Adelaide St
Born in Detroit, Marlo Broughton is a
painter that has been involved in the local
creative scene since 2007. After studying
industrial design at Wayne State, he joined
the creative group FINALLY FAMOUS,
whose core collective helped to propelled
Big Sean’s indie career, Marlo and his
collaborative partner Tommey Walker
created all of Big Sean’s graphic works.
Broughton works with several of Detroit
creative galleries and agencies including
PLAYGROUND DETROIT, Inner State
Gallery and 1xRun, Detroit Institute of Arts
and Red Bull House of Art.
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MarloBroughton
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @marlobroMural Locations: - Top: 1561 Adeline St - Bottom: 2531 Riopelle St
Efe Bes, a Central African native, born in
Detroit, MI is the founder and lead musician
of iBm and Bambuti music and movement
group. BES, the culture-shifting New Afrikan
Instumentalist, masterfully fuses new-
school African polyrhythms with
contemporary hip-hop, techno, house, jazz,
reggae, & pop aesthetics.
Today, as a single drummer and/or being
accompanied by dancers, Efe has performed
locally, nationally, and internationally with
music notables such as Alicia Keys, the
Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and Parliment
Funkadelic alum. Efe has been a featured
artist at the Henry Ford Museum, Concert of
Colors, Detroit African World Festival(s)
and was announced as a 2016 Detroit
Afrikan Music Institution (DAMI) artist-in-
residence.
Efe created a piece to capure African culture
in his own artistic style.
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Efe Bes
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @efe.besMural Location: 2638 Orleans St
Tylonn J. Sawyer is an American
multidisciplinary artist educator and
curator. Trained in the figurative arts based
practices Sawyer’s work juxtaposes themes
of identity–both individual and collective–
with investigations of race and history in
popular culture.
Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, Sawyer
has been included in solo and group
exhibitions throughout the United States
and abroad including the Venice Biennale,
Italy; Texas A & M University, Texas; The
Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, The
Charles H. Wright Museum of African
American History, The Detroit Institute of
Art, Michigan; Heron Arts, San Francisco;
Kravets/Wehby Gallery, Rush Arts & The
New York Academy of Art, New York,
amongst others.
Sawyer holds an MFA in painting from the
New York Academy of Art: Graduate School
of Figurative Art program and a Bachelor of
BFA (drawing & painting) from Eastern
Michigan University. Sawyer currently lives
and works in Detroit, Michigan, USA.
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TylonnSawyer
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://www.tylonn-j-sawyer.comInstagram: @tylonn.j.sawyerMural Location: 2638 Orleans St
Antonio “Tony Whlgn” Robinson is an artist
and designer who was born on Detroit’s east
side. His work ranges from internationally
recognized album artwork to murals in your
local neighborhood.
In 2009, with the help of his close friends
they formed, the Whlgn®. They encourage
creatives and individuals alike to be
entrepreneurial, live out their dreams,
follow what they believe to be true, and not
conform to what society believes will make
them happy in their lives. Their objective is
to open the door of imagination & inspire
individuals that can relate.
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TonyWhlgn
F E A T U R E S
Website: https://toneytonytone.comInstagram: @tonywhlgnMural Location: 1562 Alfred St
Ashley is a Detroit based artist/art teacher
who best describes her work as purposefully
figurative, not intended to be understood
literally. Acrylic, and Oil paint help to
embrace her vibrant, whimsical, intricate
and sometimes rude imaginations of
inanimate objects, body parts, and creatures
on wood or canvas.
With over 10 years of experience in both
painting and teaching, she is known for her
live art performances throughout Detroit
Michigan. She has been showing her artwork
in both solo and group exhibitions since
2008.
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AshleyMcFadden
F E A T U R E S
Email: [email protected] Location: 3500 Riopelle St
Bakpak Durden is an interdisciplinary fine
artist. With a primary focus on the figure,
Bakpak uses a range of mediums including
oil and acrylic paint, graphite and fine art
photography to create their hyperrealistic,
conceptual style. Their detailed, emotionally
engaging subjects shine a spotlight on
human feelings and moods.
Bakpak is focused on continuing their work
within community, queer and mental health
advocacy and representation as a Detroiter
in the beorgening art scene.
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BakPakDurden
F E A T U R E S
Website: https://bakpakdurden.comInstagram: @bakpakdurdenMural Location: between Orleans and Riopelle
Since 2010, Bre’Ann White has curated
stunning photographs and branding
materials for organizations worldwide. The
Detroit-bred fashion and portrait
photographer is known for creating and
cultivating striking images that draw you
into the subject’s world. Throughout White’s
work portfolio, there is a consistent layer of
authenticity and imagination.
With confidence in her work and her vision,
Bre’Ann’s career has allowed her to
showcase her work and explore exhibition
opportunities to connect to a broader
audience. Her work has been shot around
the world including New York, Los Angeles,
Africa, Southern France, Italy, and Australia.
Bre’Ann White has exhibited work in The
African American Museum of Phil, Arabic
National Museum, Playground Detroit,
UICA of Grand Rapids, N’Namdi Center for
Contemporary Art, Norwest Gallery, and
SaveArtSpace and has been featured in
national publications such as Teen Vogue,
Hour Magazine, Essence, Netflix and Harper
Bazaar.
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BreannWhite
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://www.breannwhite.comInstagram: @breannwhiteMural Location: 3500 Riopelle St
From working at the plant to 2018’s Detroit
Metro Times Best Visual Artist, Brian
“BNICK” Nickson has risen to stardom. Brian
was born on the east side of Detroit and has
been drawing all of his life. However, it
wasn’t until recent years that he has taken
the profession seriously.
His preferred painting medium is acrylic, and
is often mistaken for oil paintings. Names
like Snoop Dogg, and Martin Lawrence are
just a few public figures who responded
after seeing Brian's work on his social media
handles. Even DIA Director Salvador Salort-
Pons has tweeted about Brian's artwork.
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BrianNickson
F E A T U R E S
Website: https://www.artbybnick.comInstagram: @briannicksonart
Nick Pizana is a painter, illustrator and
muralist from Detroit, MI. In addition to his
personal art practice, Nick is a co-
owner/curator at KO Studio Gallery in
Hamtramck, MI and a board-
member/curator at Whitdel Arts in Detroit,
MI.
ARTIST STATEMENT:
“My first major experiences in art came in
my teenage years writing comics and graffiti.
Even as I’ve grown and branched out into
other mediums, a lot of those aesthetic
values still form the foundation of my work.
My style is characterized by bright,
unnatural color, dark bold lines and
expressive figures and shape that invoke
movement and action. The narrative goal of
my work changes with each series, ranging
from sarcastic social critiques to honest
reflections, from depictions of everyday life
to awesome fantasy. Many times these lines
are blurred.“
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NickPizana
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://nickpizana.comInstagram: @SHORIN_NICK
Though born and raised in Mississippi,
Olayami Dabls is a Detroiter through and
through. “I moved to Detroit in 1965 at the
age of 17. I was educated here in the city,
worked and raised my family in the city and
became an artist in the city.”
In the years between 1975-1985, Dabls
joined the Charles H. Wright Museum of
African American History as a curator and
artist-in-residence. There, he learned how
challenging it was to talk about the civil
rights movement, because in talking about
emotionally charged history, there is no
fixed perspective, only the memories and
experiences of millions of individuals. This
inspired him to create the African Bead
Museum as a space for communal
understanding through his own sculptures
and his collection of African material
culture.
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OlayamiDabis
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @olayamidablsWebsite: http://www.mbad.org/#our-story
Born in Detroit, Paul Johnson made his
introduction into Detroit's art scene via
pictures known by his social experiment
called "Pinches". Later traveling to Thailand
and later studying in Australia, proceeded to
have an exhibition in Melbourne titled
"Holding Up // Holding On." After arriving
back to the states immediately took off to
Brooklyn, New York having a small showing
of work featuring a series called
"Cloudscaping" Upon arriving back in
Detroit was accepted into the Red Bull
House of Art Residency producing two
series “Rencendence” and “Holding Out”.
Now currently working with 1xrun as their
Printshop specialist and in between jaunts
into Detroit’s ruins to paint in his passion for
painting.
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Paul Johnson
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @_fftyWebsite: http://www.fftyffty.com
BA visual artist turned musician, Sheefy
McFly uses the concept of creating visual art
and applies those methods to developing
music. His sound is bass driven and errie
sounding to reflect the impulses he feels
while creating.
Sheefy is known for being a visual artist,
rapper, DJ, producer and designer in
Detroit.
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SheefyMcfly
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @sheefymcflyWebsite: https://www.1xrun.com/artists/sheefy/Mural Location: - Top - N/A - Bottom 2735 Russell St
Tyree studied at the College for Creative
Studies in Detroit and in 2009 was awarded
an honorary Doctorate of Fine Art. He
exhibits his work extensively throughout the
United States and the world.
Tyree’s art is featured in the Detroit
Institute of Arts, the University of Michigan
Museum of Art, the Studio Museum of
Harlem and many others. His work as an
artist has earned him over 18 awards, locally
and nationally.
Tyree has also been featured in major
publications, books, and television (including
the Oprah Winfrey Show) and was the
subject of the Emmy Award Winning
Documentary, Come Unto Me, the Faces of
Tyree Guyton; and more recently the
subject of a book published in 2007 by WSU
Press, Connecting the Dots, Tyree Guyton’s
Heidelberg Project—a 2008 Michigan
Notable Book. Tyree is married and
continues to live and work in the city of
Detroit.
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Tyree Guyton
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @tyreeguytonWebsite: http://www.martosgallery.com/
Antonio “Shades” Agee, a passionate Detroit
native and public figure, was an active
participant in the creation of the Detroit
graffiti scene as one of the first documented
graffiti artists in the city. Growing up in the
Motor City, Shades has drawn invaluable
influence from his father, a successful jazz
musician.
Being surrounded by the sounds of legends
like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra shaped
his early years, implanting an appreciation
for the arts while inspiring further creativity.
Always intuitively attracted to the graphic
arts, Shades explored ways to express his
work throughout the streets of Detroit. He
began to practice aerosol artwork (also
known as graffiti) shortly before the hip-hop
phenomenon hit Detroit, making graffiti” a
more household name.
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Shades
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @shadesdetWebsite: https://www.shadesdet.com/Mural Location: 1461 Gratiot Ave
Tony Rave was introduced to the world of
art by his uncle, a Detroit artist known for
his comic-style paintings in the late 1980s.
Rave remembered those that helped
develop his craft as he grew older. “I had
artists around me who were great at what
they did. I learned how to be more
experimental, even with things that seemed
weird at first,” he said. “For example, I
started using pigs in my work and people
didn’t understand why. But using that animal
allowed me to open up artistically and be
more expressive. The work turned out to
have more depth.”
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Tony Rave
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @tonyrave
Sabrina Nelson was born in the late 60's
during the riots in Detroit Michigan. She is a
painter by degree from Detroit’s College for
Creative Studies. Influenced by Yoruba
Religion as well as Eastern and African
Philosophy. The work is a combination of
spirit, motion and intimacy, not limited by 2
dimensions the scope of her work also
includes sculpture, objects and installations.
Sabrina has been a professional artist for
over 35 years and an educator for nearly as
long. As a studio art teacher at the Detroit
Institute of Arts, she lectures and preformed
artist demonstrations. She is also on the
staff for the College for Creative Studies
where she works hard at motivating and
preparing students to pursue an art degree
in Detroit.
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Sabrina Nelson
F E A T U R E S
Instagram: @sabrinanelson67Mural Location: 2611 Russell St
Born and Raised in the City of Detroit, Artist
Phillip Darnell Simpson has been drawing
and painting since a child. Simpson works
predominantly in the medium of painting but
very sufficient in pencil. Simpson specializes
in making people smile with his work.
Some of his work can be found in galleries
but also in many urban neighborhoods
across the city. Simpson believes that if he
makes one persons smile with his work, his
job is done.
Simpson is founder and owner of The
Baltimore Gallery located in Milwaukee
Junction, Detroit.
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Phil Simpson
F E A T U R E S
Website: https://www.thesmilebrand.comInstagram: @artbyphillipsimpsonMural Location : Mack and St Aubin
Ijania Cortez was born July 31, 1990 in
Detroit Michigan. At an early age she was
encouraged to pursue art from her early
teachers, and began to study on her own.
Though she lost touch with her craft in her
high school years, with encouragement from
peers, she began to create art again in 2012.
Rediscovering her passion, she began
teaching herself through strenuous study.
She hosted her first solo exhibition, A
Summer Nativity, in July 2017Focusing on
portraiture, the artist’s work uses vibrant
colors and scale to evoke a sense of divinity
in her subjects. Handcrafting customized
canvases from salvaged wood and building
material, her pieces have been described as
soulful, provocative, and indicative of the
beauty of the human spirit.
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IjaniaCortez
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://ijania.comInstagram: @ijania
Rashaun Rucker is a product of North
Carolina Central University and Marygrove
College. He makes photographs, prints and
drawings and has won more than 40 national
and state awards for his work. In 2008
Rucker became the first African American to
be named Michigan Press Photographer of
the Year. He also won a national Emmy
Award in 2008 for documentary
photography on the pit bull culture in
Detroit. Rucker was a Maynard Fellow at
Harvard in 2009 and a Hearst visiting
professional in the journalism department at
UNC-Chapel Hill in 2013.
In 2014 Rucker was awarded an artist
residency at the Red Bull House of Art. In
2016 Rucker was honored as a Modern Man
by Black Enterprise magazine. In 2017
Rucker created the original artwork for the
critically acclaimed Detroit Free Press
documentary 12 and Clairmount. His work
was recently featured in HBO’s celebrated
series Random Acts of Flyness and Native
Son. In 2019 Rucker was awarded the Red
Bull Arts Detroit micro grant and was named
a Kresge Arts Fellow for his drawing
practice. IN 2020 RUCKER WAS NAMED
A Sustainable Arts Foundation AWARDEE.
Rucker’s diverse work is represented in
numerous public and private collections.
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RashaunRucker
F E A T U R E S
Website: http://www.rashaunrucker.comInstagram: @ruckerartsMural Location: 2220 Gratiot