Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens recently hosted an exhibit by a well-known African American artist in Florida, Charles Humes Jr. from Dec. 12, 2024–Feb. 9, 2025.
Born in Miami, Humes comes from a rich family heritage of Grand Turk, Exuma and the Eleuthera Islands of the Bahamas. He has been a professional fine artist for over 40 years, and his family background serves as a major influence on his work.
Humes has been deeply involved with contemporary art and has won many awards for his work including, the State of Florida Individual Arts Grant in Painting, A Smithsonian Southern Arts Fellowship Printmaking Fellow, a Bakehouse Residency Award, a Visual Arts Scholar and Residency at The University of Miami’s Center for Global Black Studies, and most recently an Ellies Creator Award. The exhibit offered visitors an opportunity to explore his creative process and the themes that he addresses in his art.
Photo by: Mia Alexander.
“I use romantic symbolism to open another view of drama, scenes of love and hate, struggles and triumphs. My imagery floats like a butterfly jumping and moving with the breeze of man’s many moods and actions,” Humes said.
The exhibit included a variety of his pieces, and many of them were of different mediums including acrylic, etching, dry-point, watercolor, lino-print, and mosaic.
“I like how he uses several different mediums, and I like the many different experiences he portrays through his work,” said Les Protozoa, an observer at the exhibit.
Photo by: Mia Alexander.
He even had a few mixed-media pieces. An example of this was his “Caribbean Gothic” piece, which was created using watercolor, acrylic, and gouache paints.
Photo by: Mia Alexander.
“My work explores the psyche and state of the Black experience, I employ the use of collage-forming, drawing, mixed-media, and painting using my signature realist-minimalist methods of depicting or capturing a myriad of conditions-homelessness, depression, gun violence, old age, rites of passage, and loss,” Humes said.
Photo by: Mia Alexander.
The exhibit also showcased Humes’ talent for capturing the beauty and complexity of the world around him. “I create expressions that reflect and interpret people, flora, fauna and urban environments that I live in,” Humes said. His ability to seamlessly blend these elements into his work is a testament to his talent as an artist.
“I didn’t know what to expect coming here, but it’s definitely a unique perspective,” said Protozoa when reflecting on her experience at the exhibit.
“It’s how talented he is. It makes me think of my God daughter who is also a very talented artist,” said Marge Furringer, another visitor at the exhibit.
Humes’ artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums throughout the United States. While this exhibit has ended, if you’re looking to see some of his work for yourself, you can check out galleries and museums near you, to find his next display.