For a change, 2021 had me visiting enough exhibitions that my top ten isn't simply an ordering of the ten (or less) that I'd wandered through over the course of the year. At least as many really good exhibitions that I visited in 2021 are not on the list below. I've also eliminated visits to the D.I.A. and any special shows they might have had--many of which were really top notch.
I highly suggest searching for images from these shows so you can see them in larger than fingernail size.
Honorable Mention: BLKOUT Walls in Detroit's North End neighborhood. A week or so of mural painting by various Detroit artists spread throughout a good area of this neighborhood. Had the opportunity to take my youngest out with me on a really nice Saturday and walk a few miles looking at huge wall paintings including works by some that appear below (James, and Durden).
10. Shadowboxing by Senghor Reid at M. Contemporary Art (5/22-6/19)
I'd enjoyed Reid's show the summer or two before, also at M. Contemporary Art, that were based on water. This show had more going on, in my view, yet some still were playing with the motion of water. Based on these two shows, I look forward to seeing more of Reid's work in the future.
9. Journey's in Place by Carole Harris at Hill Gallery (5/15-7/21)
Harris, a Brain Candier in the past, works with textile items, making collages. This particular show dealt with a lot of mulberry paper in various colors and shades, soaked and worked to created layers and textures, frequently with thread woven through or attached, forming examples of different travels. The works were quite a bit different from those by Harris that I'd seen in the past.
8. Why Do I Delight by Shirley Woodson at Detroit Artist Market (9/26-10/23)
Woodson is an artist I was unfamiliar with prior to stumbling into this show--something I should be thoroughly embarrassed to type for public consumption as she was this year's Kresge's Eminent Artist. This show wasn't exactly a retrospective of her work, even though there were a couple of works from the 60's--it was mainly current paintings and working with neon and the aspect that kept my attention was the usage of bright and bold colors.
7. WomxnHouse Detroit by various artists (9/20-10/30)
This was the debut show at WomxnHouse Detroit, which is set in the house that local photographer and gallery owner, Asia Hamilton's childhood home. She's converted it to a location that will exhibit work as well as have Artist Residencies. Standouts to me included the feather work of Erin Gold (future Brain Candier), the works of Dalia Reyes, and the outdoor statue by Leslie Sobel, but all 12 or 13 artists showed wonderful work.
6. Portrayal by Sydney G James and Lamar Sanders at M. Contemporary Art (11/19-12/30)
Paintings by James and photographs by Sanders presented side by side inspired by a trip together. The show creates the opportunity to see how a couple of different, and very talented, artists use similar inspiration to create works that are both similar as well as singular. At least one of Sanders' photographs includes James' work even furthering this viewpoint.
5. I Feel Like I've Been Here Before by Bakpak Durden at Playground Detroit (11/13-12/18)
First became aware of Durden's work via BLKOUT Walls and must have seen something online or in MT about this show. This was one of those nice occasions of having a gallery all but to myself the entire time I was there. Durden had made the show somewhat interactive by asking visitors to fill out a form, putting together a story by ordering the works (not favorites, but in order to create this story). I ended up finding a very hopeful work based on the order I'd put their work in, as well as notes on the sides of paintings and had a good 40-50 minutes of really thinking about their works maybe a bit more than at other exhibits I attended.
4. Triptych by Jonathan Harris, Terrell Anglin and Crystal Starks-Webb at Irwin House Gallery (11/5-11/20)
I had enjoyed an earlier show at Irwin House Gallery and so decided to visit again when this show was announced. I absolutely loved it, loving the work of all three artists. The colors and objects Starks-Webb painted were beautiful; the uniqueness of Anglin's work with pyrography (using flame to create the various shades) and paint together being like something I'd never seen; and the various shows within the show by Harris--from the see no, hear no, speak no evil triptych, to the black and white larger paintings that bordered on looking like photos, to the work as one left the gallery, Critical Race Theory, that literally stopped me in my tracks and has since this show become an International sensation. It was a show I had to return to.
3. Up from the Red Clay by Rashaun Rucker at M. Contemporary Art (3/26-5/1)
Rucker's American Ornithology exhibit at this same location two years ago stunned me to the point of visiting three times over the course of a few weeks. The same thing happened this time around with Up from the Red Clay. Similar in style though with more color, this show was much more about family than a specific idea. Red Clay was very appropriate as the color red is used wonderfully throughout this show. Rucker, a future Brain Candier, does something in his drawing of faces that simply conveys emotion. This was one of those shows that you hit on day two and see a little red dot next to every single work on the walls.
2. The Ghosts That Haunt Us by Anna van Schaap at Hatch Gallery (10/2-10/30)
I first saw Schaap's work at the Scarab Club a year or two ago--the painting Bleat and maybe one other up with works from many other artists and it really stood out to me. Gothic and somehow extremely personal. It left me looking forward to seeing more of the work of van Schaap, future Brain Candier. Hatch Gallery was that place, with a solo show of both paintings (massive works) and statues (including a death of a lamb work that was impossible to ignore). Another show that I went back to a couple of times after the first visit (which was very crowded).
1. Overture by Sydney G. James, Scheherazade Washington Parrish, Rashaun Rucker, and Tylonn J. Sawyer at Detroit Artist Market (6/25-7/24)
As I've already mentioned works by both James and Rucker, it shouldn't be too surprising that a show that included work from both would also be on the list. One of the prints that I own is of a work by Sawyer with Scheherazade as his muse. And while I was much more familiar with SWPs work as a poet, seeing what she was doing with visual art was stunning. Drawings from Rucker, paintings by Sawyer, paintings by James (maybe including one or two from a previous M Contemporary Art show I enjoyed) and SWP's blackout art, including a quartet of versions from the same original letter source left me bouncing from wall to wall trying to capture it all. Which led to three repeat visits after the original visit and the purchase of a print. One can only hope these four continue to push each other.
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