A who’s who of top artists of color will be on hand as the Mackey Twins Art Gallery presents “Art’s Conscience II” at the Interchurch Center Gallery in Manhattan. The exhibit will include the works of Xenobia Bailey, Betty Blayton, Stacey Brown, Leroy Campbell, Demetric Denmark, James Denmark, Essud Fungcap, Magno Laracuente, Ruth Miller, Charly Palmer and TWIN and run from October 31 through November 30. Opening Night will be celebrated from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, November 11, and include an Artists’ Talk at 6:30 p.m.sharp.
Those participating in the Artists’ Talk on Opening Night include Bailey, Brown, James Denmark, Fungcap, Laracuente, Miller and Palmer. The event will be moderated by Diedra Harris-Kelley, co-director of the Romare Bearden Foundation. Harris-Kelley is also a historian, writer and formally trained artist.
In April 2013, the Gallery, the largest collection of exclusive works of artists of color in the tristate area, presented “Art’s Conscience” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. November’s exhibition continues and expands on that theme.
“The Conscience becomes the ‘soul’ in the matter of creating and collecting. The responsibility rests on both parties,” said Sharon Mackey, who, together with her identical twin sister, Karen, founded the Mackey Twins Art Gallery to develop art collectors of color while promoting the works by artists of color to all audiences. “Understanding the artist’s style process is critical.”
“The artists’ inner struggle is to create, whether it’s safe, unpopular or political. In spite of these challenges, the artists want the collector’s approval,” said Karen Mackey.
Clients and supporters of the gallery include Lonette McKee, Khalil Kain, Danny Simmons, Byron and Sylvia Lewis, Lloyd Williams and Voza Rivers, as well as first-time buyers entering the field and more experienced collectors.
The exhibition is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. The Interchurch Center Gallery is located at 475 Riverside Drive (at 120th Street), New York, NY 10115.