From the Detroit Free Press

Duante Beddingfield and Ryan Garza for the Detroit Free Press visited the gallery to document and cover the current group exhibition, Revelations.

Eclectic exhibit showcases 10 Detroit-area artists

By Duante Beddingfield, for the Detroit Free Press

Ten sought-after artists of varying styles have joined forces to gather their latest works under one roof in an exhibit that launched this weekend.

Some of Detroit's most acclaimed artists are highlighted in "Revelations," a group exhibition that opened Friday at Ferndale's M Contemporary Art.

The show features marquee names as well as up-and-coming creators. Rashaun Rucker, Senghor Reid, Joshua Rainer, Sabrina Nelson, Richard Lewis, Don Kilpatrick III, Sydney G. James, Cailyn Dawson, Cydney Camp and Alicia Brown were each chosen by gallery owner Melannie Chard to make a bold statement at the start of 2022.

Chard said she'd been incubating the idea for over a year.

"I work with a lot of a lot of artists in and around Detroit," she said. "Some of them know each other, some of them don't; some are new and emerging, and some are really established. I knew who I wanted in this show, and fortunately, they all said yes. It's a real pleasure for me to have this group of artists all together."

One of those emerging artists, Hamtramck's Cydney Camp, has increasingly drawn attention over the last four years with her figurative paintings that lean into abstraction. "Revelations" is her first time showing at M Contemporary.

"It feels great," Camp said. "This lineup of artists is really spectacular. There are so many younger Black painters standing alongside these local greats like Richard Lewis, Sydney James, Rashaun Rucker... It's really an honor to be in the same space.

"I think it speaks a lot to the diversity of talent here in the city and the strong sense of community we have, that you can bring this many great artists together for one show. You can't do that everywhere."

Camp, who is pursuing a master's degree in painting at Cranbrook Academy of Art, will also take part in a group exhibition at Scarab Club in February.

COVID-19 precautions are heavily in place for "Revelations," which will be open Thursdays through Saturdays, noon to 6 p.m., through Feb. 4.

"We're limiting the number of people in the gallery," said Chard, "and because there are so many artists in the show, they're going to come at different times during the event. People have to register on our website, so there's a managed ebb and flow. Masks are required, and we're not doing drinks so there are minimal reasons to remove masks."

More information on "Revelations" is available at mcontemporaryart.com.

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