Shyanne Dickey & Edward Grady: Rising - Opening Reception

Curated by Gallery Director Helen Opper, this exhibition pairs the work of two Oklahoma-based artists, Shyanne Dickey and Edward Grady, for a two-part exhibition at Modella Gallery in Stillwater and The Art Hall in Oklahoma City. Dickey and Grady make artwork that explores their cultural and personal influences, honors strong women and matrilineal heritages, and celebrates Black identity. Through her mixed media paintings incorporating archival imagery, Dickey examines her own family’s history and that of other African American “Exodusters”, families who settled in the farmland of Kansas after the Civil War. By sharing these stories with the public, Dickey helps uncover a little-known part of American and African American history – one that empowered many Black freedmen and their families, but which was not without significant challenges. Grady’s vibrantly colored, textured, and intricately patterned paintings of Black women, men, and masks are informed by his relationship to African cultures and art forms, his interest in symbolism, fashion, and design, and a career’s worth of art education and curatorial work within Black communities in Oklahoma and elsewhere. The commanding, powerful presence of his figures and their emboldened, direct gazes demonstrate that his subjects are not afraid to take up space and visually proclaim their cultural identity. Each of these artists adapts figuration to reflect their own voices and artistic practices, empowering themselves and those who view the artwork.

Join us during the Paseo First Friday on Friday, May 5th, from 5-8pm, for a reception honoring the artists! The event is free, family-friendly, and open to the public.