‘Seeing colors versus skin.’ New Wynwood exhibit shows plurality of Black experience
One of the first things that you notice about Anthony Reed II’s work is the color.
Splashes of red, blues and purple color the faces of the Black subjects in his art. Ask Reed about his choice of color palette and it’s very clear that he sees Black people differently.
“I understood that our skin has reds, has purples,” said Reed, better known by his nom de plume Mojo. “And if the sun is hitting it, it has yellows and oranges. I see these colors all the time when I see us. I’m seeing colors versus skin.”
Reed’s expansive color palette will be on full display at Grand Opening Gallery in Wynwood until August 19. Entitled “For Better or Worse,” the exhibit takes viewers on a journey centered around creativity in spite of circumstance.
“What made that title so important was because it made me think of all the things we’ve been through as Black folks and how we’re able to transmute that into something positive,” said Reed, a St. Louis-born artist who moved to Miami in 2018. “Like how can you take slavery, how can you take being oppressed and still strive.”
Reed’s collaboration with Grand Opening Gallery for his first solo exhibit was no coincidence. For an artist whose residencies have taken him to Ghana and France, he wanted his solo show debut to be Black. Like Black, Black. Like “open on Juneteenth in a gallery owned by two Black men” Black.
“I just wanted to celebrate basically freedom for Black people,” said Keyani Watkins, a co-owner of Grand Opening Gallery who also serves as the artistic director and curator. Watkins added that he chose Mojo because of his “beautiful portraits of Black people.” “Those portraits are usually happy portraits. He paints in this very colorful style so it showcases bright happiness and a feeling of family and togetherness through the canvas.”
Grand Opening Gallery co-owner Jason Wess added that this exhibit is “deeper” than just showcasing Black art.
“It’s art on a wall by a Black man in a Black space curated by Black people,” said Wess, who founded the fashion label Grand Opening in 2019 and opened his first boutique-gallery space alongside co-owner Taachi Hayes in Overtown in 2020. The collective moved to Wynwood in 2021.
“We want the community to see how a Black man can do stuff like this in Wynwood,” Wess added.
Across the show’s seven pieces, Reed explores Black boy joy (“OVERtown: The Brothahood”), the relationship with his son (“KINGShighway 2”) and even his own spirituality as Bible verses accompany many of the works. These verses help define the stories that each piece intends to tell.
“The Bible taught me the responsibility in storytelling,” Reed said. “The responsibility in storytelling for me was to make sure if I’m going to tell a story, I’m going to tell the truth of the story. If I’m going to paint a person, I’m going to paint the person exactly how they look. But also, with the responsibility, I’m going to make sure that people are shown in the best light possible,”
Take “THERE,” for example. Created during Reed’s residency in France, the self-portrait shows the artist with four arms outstretched while what appears to be flowers surround his body and colors explode around his limbs. And while Reed never thought he’d do self-portraiture, the surreal elements of the piece allowed him to “showcase spirituality in art.”
“The explosion of color is just letting it out. Letting everything that I had out. It also shows that I’m grounded on Earth,” said Reed. “I’m trying to show that the ground, the plants, the vines is coming through me and out of my hands as well. I’m connected to this. I’m connected to the ground. I’m connected to the ground. I’m connected to you. I’m connected to everybody.”
That connectivity is something that Reed speaks about a lot. Nowhere is that more apparent than in his “a LIVE” piece in which he reimagines Trayvon Martin as an adult. In the piece’s description, Reed talks about how history has led him to create works that promote “positivity, peace and prosperity.” The description ends with a challenge for the viewer to “treat all people with respect, love and empathy.”
“We need to leave this place better than we found it,” Reed wrote. “Be the change we want to see. The time is now.”
IF YOU GO:
WHAT: “For Better or Worse” by Anthony “Mojo” Reed II
WHERE: 2242 NW 1st Pl, Miami, FL 33127
WHEN: Through July 21 (1-6 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday and noon-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday)
For more information go to https://grandopeningmia.com/
This story was originally published June 29, 2023 at 11:03 AM.
