Dearborn’s Padzieski Gallery hosts ‘Home – A Reflection of Uncertain Times’

 

By SUE SUCHYTA

Times-Herald Newspapers

DEARBORN – “Home – A Reflection of Uncertain Times,” showcases the work of 30 local artists through July 5 at the Padzieski Gallery in the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center.

The exhibit “seeks to explore and reimagine the idea of home in the current cultural American climate, particularly for marginalized communities navigating the challenges of exclusion, erasure and systemic inequalities.”

EmmaJean Woodyard, executive director of the Dearborn Community Fund, said home means different things to people and becomes very individually driven.

“For example, that one over there shows the dinner table with food and you think of family sitting around the table in a coming together place,” she said. “How does the artist then interpret that simple word of ‘home.’”

Woodyard said for some, home means a place of nurturing, while for others, it means a place of turmoil.

“I think you see it in the different styles that are here,” she said.

Woodyard said gallery attendees not only enjoy the art, but provide emotional and artistic support for the artists.

“This exhibit was a chance to give up-and-coming artists an opportunity to broaden the scope of their work, to give them a place to exercise their artistic ability and prowess,” she said.

Artist Victoria Nada of Dearborn, whose oil painting “The Lost” was on display, shows a lost little girl following an iconic yellow brick road as she tries to find her way home.

She said one must go on a journey while questioning one’s self to determine whether one is home or not.

“The way to do that is you have to go through the thick of it and all that,” Nada said.

She said she likes to work with oil paint because it allows her to do as much color blending as she wants.

Artist Matt Thornton of Oak Park, whose acrylic paintings were on display, said he likes to capture imagery of older, architecturally interesting homes that he sees in Detroit.

He said his untitled painting of a house in red and black with roots or tentacles beneath it displays contrast.

“Not everybody’s home is flowers and roses,” Thornton said. “In some people’s homes there is trauma, and this kind of reflects both sides of what could be considered a home.”

He said one of the good things about Detroit is that it has a plethora of beautiful old homes that he enjoys capturing in paintings.

Artist Danielle Whitehead of Belleville, who was exhibiting an oil on canvas painting entitled, “Queen Bee,” said her work pays homage to women, especially black women, and how they sustain life within their communities.

“We use our resources and our love to keep our communities going and maintain our communities as well,” she said. “I wanted the bees to be shown protecting the queen and her hive, so it can show she’s the most important person; she is the one who reigns over everything.”

Whitehead said she likes to work in many different media, including oil, oil pastel, acrylic wash, colored pencils, graphite and charcoal.

She said she likes to sculpt as well.

“I just like doing different things, because it’s a way for me to expand and explore,” Whitehead said.

She said she uses different media for different projects and different effects.

Whitehead said she loves seeing the different stories told through the art on display in the Padzieski Gallery.

“I think stories have a way of connecting people and bringing people together, and it shows different perspectives and experiences,” she said. “It’s eye-opening.”