adnan charara and dalia reyes at detroit contemporary
Adnan Charara: My Journey Through Time
“Adnan Charara is a Lebanese-American artist who has lived and worked in the U.S. since 1982. With an unquenchable thirst to create since he was a child, he drew, painted, sculpted and assembled his way from Seattle to Boston to Detroit, where he currently makes his artistic home. Adnan works in multiple mediums with several ideas at a time, treating his studio practice like a detail-oriented factory. His hard-working dedication is masked, however, by his whimsical and humorous treatment of serious subjects.”
Charara draws the viewer in through playful imagery embedding consequential messages in the cartoon-like renderings. In Colonial Man, Charara references America’s beginnings in the wigged Aristocrat exemplifying an economic chasm that contributed to the 13 colonies’ move toward independence. As Charara wrangles multiple cultural affiliations into one soul, it’s also a reminder that most US citizens’ roots originate elsewhere.
Charara places his comical figure on a grey matte background which serves to highlight the unruly macaroni hair and the kindergarten palette. The barely legible text, applied for its line quality, doubles as a moustache and a helluva gin blossom.
The accordion sketchbooks reveal Charara’s expansive imagination in a range of characters that could easily inhabit any child’s storybook firing tales of intrigue and exhilarating adventures.
This tiny collector employs ears for its face, possibly alluding to buyers listening to the constant cacophony of opinions—like the one presented here, ha! —rather than really looking and deciding for themselves.
A hammer was Charara’s first tool as a boy and became the symbol for building a life as well as art. No indication why this hammer is so sad, but the simple image is striking.
Dalia Reyes: A Transmission From The Cosmic Infinity
“An exploration of cosmic dreams, consciousness, and the cosmic infinity. Dalia Reyes' portals and meditations have transformed into vignettes depicting dreams of transmutation, frequency transmissions, and a celebration of non-earthly dimensions of delight. In this realm, reality is shaped by intention and a profound cosmic curiosity. These space explorations serve as mental breaks from the density of earthly life. “
Reyes offers several paintings with similar intonation in a cozy, intimate setting. Akin to Mark Rothko’s work, paintings installed in this manner change the energy in the space they occupy affecting the conscious and observant viewer. Namaste.
Charara has quietly but staunchly supported Detroit art since he moved here. Taking over the historic Astro building on Cass, he transformed a portion of it into a dream studio—I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t just die for that space! —with an expansive, airy gallery streetside. Reyes has been the exhibition coordinator at Charara’s Galerie Camille for some time while recently adding that role at the Scarab Club to her CV keeping her incredibly busy. Charara and Reyes are two of the most hard-working, compassionate, enthusiastic cheerleaders for this community making for a perfect exhibition pairing.
On view through Nov 26th at detroit contemporary 487 W Alexandrine Detroit
*images are mine
direct quote from gallery materials
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SHOWS OPEN THIS WEEKEND
Brain Candy Monday November 20th 7P
I am so glad you said the truth about Dalia Reyes, who brings art to us at two key venues, the Scarab Club & Gallerie Camille. I missed the opener at detroit contemporary, but I will need to view the show just to take the measure of Reyes artistry. The brilliantly executed Nora Chapa Mendoza retrospective and beam signing at SC recently shows that Reyes can keep the ship on course. Which is no simple feat because the SC has more intrigues than Versailles palace. It's cool to see the scope of your understanding of the Detroit Art Scene because I've noticed a few scoops on Art Detroit Now!