Open Air: Artist Talk with Charlotte's Men of Change Artists

A behind-the-scenes look at the creative processes of the six commissioned artists featured in our Charlotte's Men of Change pop-up exhibition currently on view. Inspired by the Smithsonian’s traveling exhibition, Men of Change: Power. Triumph. Truth., Charlotte's Men of Change honors six local Black leaders for their work as businessmen, teachers, political and social justice activists, coaches, and visionaries. Their extraordinary stories of determination and resilience hold lessons for us all.

An original work of art by local creatives accompanies each "Man of Change." This exhibition features works by Justin Ellis, Garrison Gist, Percy C. King, Monique Luck, Eric Ndelo, and Keudis Sanchz. Told across six themes, Charlotte's Men of Change is on view at Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture and Levine Museum of the New South.

Justin Ellis (Quentin Talley)

Justin Ellis's mixed media art is as rich in color, layers and technique as it is in imagination and meaning. Growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina, creating art was a family affair. He attended The Art Institute of Raleigh-Durham, where he specialized in graphic design and marketing and completed an artist residency at the Brooklyn Collective in Charlotte. Ellis uses different combinations of styles and mediums to connect to what he loves most about being a creator – he can always grow and develop as an artist. The freedom to interchange styles, mediums and colors makes for endless possibilities and opportunity for improvement. This organic process has led Ellis's art to be accepted into a variety of galleries including the Mint Museum, Sozo Art Gallery, and Art Basel Miami.

Garrison Gist (John T. Schenck)

Garrison Gist is a former athlete and graduate of the University of South Carolina where he majored in Art Studio. Prior to college, his skills as an artist were primarily self-taught and spanned across mediums - from acrylic paint, spray paint, pastels, graphite, charcoal, marker, print, and even clay. A lot of his work is based on popular culture - music, sports, film, text, video games, television – multiple media related to entertainment. His first mural was the Black Lives Matter mural in Uptown Charlotte.

Percy C. King (J. Charles Jones)

Percy C. King makes three-dimensional portraits out of wood, paint, and various mediums using skills he acquired as a carpenter and furniture maker over the last 20 years. Working from photographs, King digitalizes an image into shapes he can cut from various types of plywood and Masonite. Layering these cut strips into a three-dimensional relief, he then recreates the image of his subject. To date most of King's works depict African Americans from politicians to rappers, as well as reflecting on the experiences of everyday life. King has depicted everyday African Americans, entertainers, as well as political figures such as Barack Obama and Langston Hughes, whose portrait was exhibited at the Columbus Museum of Art during the EXPY winning exhibition I, Too, Sing America: The Harlem Renaissance at 100 (2018-2019), curated by Will Haygood. He currently has a total of six works in perpetual collection at the Columbus Museum of Art.

Monique Luck (William McNeely)

Soulful figures textured with emotion emerge, revealing colorful, lyrical stories moving fluidly across canvas. Monique Luck models the features of figures and natural forms using fragments of found paper. “The emotion in my work comes directly from the emotions I experience in life,” she explains. “As I assemble a collage, I often wish I could rearrange pieces of my life as I do pieces of colored paper. Each day I am reminded that life choices are not as easily moved.” Luck is an award-winning visual artist and muralist with a focus on community and public art. She has exhibited her work frequently at galleries and museums across the nation.

Eric B. Ndelo (Harvey B. Gantt)

Congolese-American Eric B. Ndelo was born and raised in Charlotte, North Carolina. He started off as an artist in his early years but fell in love with electronics and engineering by the time he entered high school. Ndelo graduated from North Carolina State University (NCSU) with degrees in Digital Media Production and Electrical Engineering. Shortly thereafter he and his “Troop of Gorillas” launched their apparel enterprise. DRC ApeParel, “The Global-Street-Culture Brand,” represents his love for international culture and streetwear, while MacFly Fresh connects his love for art, design and screen-printing.

Keudis Sanchz (Steve Crump)

Keudis Sanchz, is a Venezuelan multidisciplinary artivist with several years of beauty and product photography experience along with other art media. Sanchz is the co-founder of the non-profit organization, La Casa de la Cultura/The Culture House, that promotes the culture, arts, and traditions of the diasporas in the Queen City. Sanchz graduated from Central Piedmont Community College (CPCC) and he participated in a fellowship program, Diamante Arts Leadership Institute (DALI), in Raleigh, North Carolina. His artwork has been exhibited in North Carolina, Cameron Art Museum, Wilmington, select galleries in Charlotte, Raleigh and New York City.

Dexter Wimberly is an American entrepreneur and curator based in Hayama, Japan. He's the co-founder and CEO of the online education platform CreativeStudy.

Wimberly has organized exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world including the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City, The Green Family Art Foundation in Dallas, The Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte, The Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD) in San Francisco, KOKI Arts in Tokyo, and The Third Line in Dubai.

His exhibitions have been reviewed and featured in publications including The New York Times and Artforum, and have received support from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, and The Kinkade Family Foundation.

Wimberly is a Senior Critic at New York Academy of Art, and the founder and director of the Hayama Artist Residency in Japan. Prior to his curatorial career, Wimberly was the managing partner of the New York-based advertising and marketing agency August Bishop, representing a diverse array of clients including Adidas, The Coca-Cola Company, and HBO.

Open Air is a monthly series of virtual studio visits and intimate conversations with Black contemporary artists across the United States. Join us monthly as we celebrate a featured artist in one of our latest exhibitions.