Opening Reception: Richard Haynes Jr. The Sum of Us

Description

On June 24 SAACC will host a reception, open to the public, to celebrate its new art show Richard Haynes, Jr.: The Sum of Us.

Guests will be invited to view two curated collections of nationally renowned artist Richard Haynes Jr.'s work spanning more than 30 years.

Haynes, Jr. will speak about the show’s message and his artistic process. The on-site suggested donation is $15, and SAACC Members $10 (cash, check, or credit card). Original art work will be also available for sale, as well as reduced price prints. The opening reception will feature catered appetizers along with beer and wine.

The Sum of Us, features 50 black and white pen and ink sketches ranging from 1990-2022. The sketches often form the basis for larger painted pieces and show how the artistic process unfolds from start to finish. They are complex but also accessible and communicate truths about who we are as Americans and world citizens. They point to moments in American history, from slavery to the Jim Crow era and beyond and feature intimate family and community encounters with unique details in which we can all see ourselves.

The title was inspired by New York Times bestselling author Heather McGhee who writes that America suffers from a zero-sum mentality, in which we presume that public goods and the good life are limited, like a pie, and lost forever if shared with others. The “sum of us” instead sees our collective prosperity is a real possibility if we recover the past and stand in solidarity.

A second collection on display features 3-5 foot in diameter color circles depicting community and unity in facing some of today’s greatest challenges like racism, climate change, immigration and policing reforms, and economic inequalities. Titled Our World’s Leaders in Spiritual Moral Decline, this collection brings viewers inside the issues and gives ground to raise our voices for change.