Southfield Public Arts Commission presents Indulgence: Inspired Images art exhibition and reception featuring 11 artists November 15

M. Gasby Brown

Website: www.nopermissionneeded.art
Inspired by profound dreams that blurred the line between sleep and wakefulness, Brown's artistic journey began unexpectedly in 2002. With each brushstroke, every intricately chosen piece for her collages, and all the diverse mediums she's embraced, Brown channels stories rich in emotion, history, and personal experiences. At the heart of her work is a lifelong commitment to championing the underrepresented and taking a stand against racial inequity. From highlighting unsung heroes of the music scene to confronting societal biases, Brown's art serves as a rallying cry for justice, love, and a deeper understanding of the narratives that have shaped us. Dive into her world, and you'll find more than just art - you'll discover a movement, a purpose, and a relentless voice seeking change.

Donald Calloway

Painter and sculptural artist, Donald Calloway, has been essential in the Detroit arts community for more than thirty years. Calloway recognized his passion for the arts at the tender age of three and has been solely dedicated to his artistic endeavors ever since. He honed the technical aspects of the arts at the Center for Creative Studies, then continued his practice at the Greektown Lofts, where his studio famously remained until 2023. Calloway's meticulous constructions, intentional brush strokes, and bold use of colors has resulted in a signature style that is known and beloved throughout the city and beyond.

The winner of the Plowshares Theatre Company Sankofa Arts Award, Calloway's work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions with such organizations as the Detroit Institute of Arts, Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Arts Extended Gallery, Delta Sigma Theta, Liberal Arts Gallery, and National Conference of Artists Gallery. Calloway currently lives, creates, and exhibits at his home on W. Grand Blvd as part of the Irwin House Gallery arts estate.

Marta Carvajal

Last May Carvajal inherited the noble title VI Duquesa de Aveyro, Grande de España, from her father. Despite her noble heritage, her journey in Detroit's art scene has been defined by humility, determination, and service to the community. Over the past 14 years, Carvajal has gained respect and recognition not through her title, but simply as Marta, a name that has become synonymous with creative excellence and cultural dedication. As both an artist and curator, her work has spanned numerous exhibitions, where she has been a passionate advocate for local artists and the preservation of Detroit's rich cultural history. Her artistic practice reflects a deep exploration of identity, heritage, and humanity, while her curatorial projects have highlighted the legacies of prominent Detroit figures like Charles McGee and Nora Chapa Mendoza. Through solo and group exhibitions, public art fairs, and community-driven projects, Carvajal has helped foster a vibrant, inclusive art scene that empowers emerging talent and honors the region's artistic pioneers. Her contributions to Detroit's art community have been grounded in a genuine commitment to uplift the voices of others and to create spaces where art serves as a bridge for cultural dialogue and social change.

Henry Heading

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/HenryTHeading/

A native Detroiter born and raised, Henry is a product of the Detroit school system, attending Martin Luther King High School and the Center for Creative Studies Alumni. His most enjoyable job was creating hand painted billboards for a Detroit billboard company.

Artist Statement:

Being able to create is an essential part of my life, reflecting my passion and imagination. My primary focus is realism, using oil and acrylics. I switch to mediums such as woods, and metals, to break up the monotony, by designing and building conversational 3-D pieces. No matter the medium, each piece must achieve the highest degree of craftsmanship possible. I'm drawn to Art Deco and ethnic designs.

Michael Homer

Website: www.michaelhornerart.com
Born into a creative lineage, Horner's artistic journey began under the guidance of his grandfather, AC Bently, who crafted vivid folk art reflecting the nature and times of rural Mississippi in the form of beautiful birds such as blue jays, sparrows, red cardinals and portraits of southern dirt-floor wooden houses, which were hand-framed by his grandfather with cardboard and tape and other humble materials. Consequently, remnants of this artistic theme echoes throughout Michael's work such as "Big Mama's Green tomatoes". Even though, he grew up in a large family as one of twelve children, raised by a widowed mother after the untimely death of his father. This upbringing in Detroit's east side profoundly influenced his artistic expression and provided him an outlet to reflect his emotions.

Doug Jones

Website: https://dougjones.art/
Doug Jones is an interdisciplinary artist and educator based in Michigan. His career as an artist and designer demonstrates two primary ways of working. His independent work focuses on innovative and often immersive forms of contemporary cartography that work across disciplines, materials, and media. His socially engaged/sculptural work in co-creation stems from his career in psychology and education. By exploring contemporary anthropological cognitive psychology in the form of mind maps, his practice builds from a foundation that explores the meaning that we project onto things as well as the relationships within and about an image. In each of his ways of working, Jones develops cutting-edge digital and physical artifacts and experiences that explore overlapping psychological, social, economic, cultural, and technological structures and systems. In 2018, the American Institute of Architects named Jones 1 of 25 National Champions for his innovative approach to contemporary cartography. In 2022, Jones graduated with an MFA from the Print Media and Architecture Departments at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, MI. His thesis titled, "Palimpsest: A Pathway," explores ways the past wills itself into the future across disciplines and media. Jones' exploration across materials allows him to uncover craft-informed technologies and systems. His work over the last year includes public art (experimental printmaking, painting, photography, sculpture, and public gardens), residencies, and workshops in Michigan, Connecticut, and Tennessee.

Feroz Khan

Originally from Pakistan, Khan graduated in 1967 from Wayne State University, Detroit, MI as an Electrical Engineer. He started in art as a hobby in 1984 while taking Adult Education classes in Troy, MI. Initially Khan started with oil paints but soon switched to watercolor. When he is working on paintings, Khan is fully engrossed in the activity because it relaxes him. He enjoys it a lot.

Artist's statement:

As an artist I am considered a realist. I like bold and lively colors. My motivation comes from travel or movies. I generally take several pictures and make a sketch to focus on the subject or the theme of the painting. I like to paint in sunlight and generally work only a few hours, when I am in the mood. As the painting develops, I take pictures to create a visual timeline. I also write a motivational story on each piece.

Amanda Partridge Nordin

Amanda Partridge Norton is an intuitive fine artist who focuses on themes regarding universal consciousness, emotional alchemy, and spiritual ascension. Her work and interests are translated through sculpture and painting, often blurring the lines between the two. Deep meditation and the divining of sacred symbolism permeates her work, and context is viewer driven. Nordin makes artwork that will create a sense of belonging, remembering, and realization that the viewer is already a part of it. Although the work comes from her soul, she dives deeply into universal concepts regarding oneness with all of creation.

Nordin received her BFA in Sculpture from East Carolina University and soon after moved to Detroit in 2002 following her passion for fine art and higher education. She is a mentor and an active artist in the community, often sharing her knowledge and expertise through workshops and symposia.

Senghor Reid

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/senghorreid/
Senghor Reid develops figurative paintings and films that explore the connections between culture, art, the social sciences and the conservation of our natural environment. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, a master's in art education from Wayne State University, Detroit and attended the internationally recognized Marathon program at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. A recipient of the prestigious ArtServe Michigan Governor's Award for an Emerging Artist in 2001, Reid's work has been shown nationally and internationally in galleries and museums and is in both private and public art collections. Reid served as a 2015 Kresge Artist Fellowship panelist in Visual Arts.

Yvonne Simmons

Born in Detroit, MI. as a child, Simmons loved making new friends and drawing on the 'want ad' sections of the Detroit newspaper when she wasn't doing homework. Drawing was far better than black and white television at that time and Crayola crayons was a young artist's best friend. As she matured over the years, Simmons became influenced by a couple of exceptionally gifted art teachers and decided to develop her creative appetite by attending Marygrove College as an Art Major. While studying, she got married and had a family. While raising two boys Simmons did portraits and continued for years to maintain a balance of thought. The pandemic and retirement allowed more time to once again embrace her artistic passions. Currently residing in Oak Park, MI., Simmons was strongly advised to join the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club where she has reinvented her creative self and she is loving every minute of it!

Artist Statement:

My drawings reveal emotions and visions that only I can feel and see. I creatively present those feelings and images through combinations of colors and lines with the primary objective to provoke a feeling, generate a question, motivate an idea or inspire a new objective. Art is life plus hope, Art is LOVE!

Oshun Williams

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oshun_williams/
Emerging artist Oshun Williams hails from Pontiac, MI, where he was born and raised. As a self-taught artist, he is swiftly making a name for himself within the Metro-Detroit arts community. Williams is celebrated for his distinct complementary style, characterized by the incorporation of his unique chenille patches into his artworks, introducing a captivating mixed-media dimension. His chosen medium is acrylic on canvas, with occasional forays into the use of newspaper to evoke texture and depth in his creations.

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