TEXARKANA, Ark. - One of the gallery rooms at the 1894 Gallery downtown showcases the artistic contributions of African Americans for February, which is celebrated as Black History Month.
Black artists and subjects fill the room with a variety of artwork, including an intricate costume and a vivid, detailed depiction of an icon and hero, Nelson Mandela.
Artists include Texas High School art teacher Dr. Teya Sherman with a variety of paintings, both oil and watercolor. A retired art and photography teacher, Ron Washington, has photographs featured here. Muralist Darlene Taylor, who has worked on downtown Texarkana projects, is represented here with another creative pursuit, costumes, with this one a costume for the former Queen of England Anne Boleyn (appropriately enough, a separate head and headdress included).
Cedric Watson, who uses artistic media like graphite and charcoal, is represented by two works, one of which is that Mandela depiction. Charcoal portraits by an artist named Skyy are included, as is a painting of ragtime great Scott Joplin by H.M. Fort Jr. Also in the exhibit is a portrait of Jimi Hendrix painted by Tyler Arnold and work by the late Danny Helms.
Debbie Nicholas at the 1894 Gallery said the exhibition will be up through Feb. 27. Nicholas, who's a retired art teacher herself, said Sherman tends to paint a bit of everything with a tendency to capture what her students are working on at the time.
"So we have portraits, we have still lifes and we have landscapes, all of Teya's," Nicholas said, noting Washington's photographs are portraits. He's a retired public school teacher. "There's one that is used on a T-shirt. It's a man with a flag bandana tied around his hands in front of him."
About the talented Watson, Nicholas said he's represented with his latest work.
"Cedric's fantastic with his medium, and he's just a very good artist," Nicholas said.
"We just felt like we needed to do something to honor these artists and to celebrate them," she said. "All of them are represented in our gallery, have works in there."
In addition to this Black History Month exhibit focusing on the creative contributions shared by African Americans, the Regional Arts Center also has an exhibit showcasing Black artistry with a focus on quilts.
(The 1894 Gallery is located at 105 Olive St. in Texarkana, Arkansas. For more information, visit the 1894 Gallery page on Facebook or call 870-330-5003.)