Fri 8/30 @ 5-7:30PM
Wed 8/28-Sat 10/5
Crystal Miller is one of the rising generation of Cleveland artists, just a year out of the Cleveland Institute of Art, with her work already seen in several area galleries. Her next step is her show at Akron Soul Train, where she’s had a residency, called Queens and Shiny Things. And if you’ve seen her work, you know she’s the queen of shiny things. She draws on Afrofuturism and various strains of fantasy to create her vivid, otherworldly works which incorporate objects such as mirrors, combs and press-on nails into her colorful paintings and sculptures that celebrate African-American culture.
“By creating these pieces, I am reclaiming a narrative that society has long suppressed,” she says. “Through revisiting my past and envisioning the future from a deeply personal perspective, I construct an alternate reality—an escape from the harsh realities of today and a glimpse into a potential utopia where Blackness is freely expressed and celebrated.”
In addition to Miller’s show artist-in-residence Oberlin Assistant Professor of Design & Black Visual Cultures Michael Boyd Roman will be debuting his project, titled Negus Wait in Gold, a collection of mixed-media works and charcoal drawings that explores Black identity, drawing on religious iconography of the African Diaspora, combined with modern motifs drawn from hip hop and pop culture.
The shows will be on view Wednesday August 28 through Saturday October 5. There’ll be an artists reception on Friday August 30.
191 S Main St, Akron, OH 44308