Photo Credit: Eastern Michigan University, Photographer Cara Jones
“Life is a continuum, it never has that period to it. It’s always a comma.”-Charles McGee
A permanent sculpture garden named the ‘Charles McGee Legacy Park,’ created to commemorate the renowned artist Charles McGee, is set to open on May 18, simultaneously with the inaugural exhibit, ‘Charles McGee: Time is Now,’ at the Shepherd, a renovated 110-ten-year-old church located in the ‘Little Village.’
Charles McGee’s oldest daughter, April McGee-Flournoy, believes the sculptures serve as messengers. Their sculptural elements exist within and interact with nature, the environment, and humanity.
“The sculpture garden is a place to contemplate, meditate and seek peace. The inspirational components within the Little Village cultural hub implore the creative community to utilize artistic means to interact with nature, push parameters, and achieve unity and togetherness,” April McGee-Flournoy said.
Owners JJ and Anthony Curis, co-founders of the Library Street Collective, recently purchased an old church in ‘Little Village,’ an artistic hub located in English Villiage. Anthony Curis told the New York Times, “We see the space as a unique opportunity to do some things outside of what traditional galleries are doing, what institutions are doing, and what community centers are doing—almost this hybrid of all these things.”
Charles McGee’s significant influence on the art world is continuously being celebrated through a unique collaboration between the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (MOCAD) and Library Street Collective. The exhibition at the Shepherd will provide a platform to showcase his remarkable artistic journey. As a pioneering artist with a career spanning six decades, he has significantly contributed to painting, sculpture, and printmaking.
Lyndsay McGee, the youngest of Charles Mcgee’s two daughters, says some of her favorite memories with her dad are watching him draw and create organically in their home in the latter years of his life. Her favorite piece of work by her father is called ‘Carousel.’ She describes it as a detailed drawing of his interpretation of a carousel horse, which will be part of the exhibition at the Shepard.
“I am incredibly proud of my father’s legacy and the pleasure and honor it is to see his work commemorated in this capacity. I am so thankful that Library Street Collective represents my father’s estate and has my dad as their premiere artist for the inaugural exhibition at the Shepard. I am filled with gratitude,” Lyndsay McGee said.
Lyndsay points out that the first line of her father’s artist statement is, “Art charts the course of time.” The exhibition “Time Is Now” embodies the idea that we create through time and its exploration in relation to our eras and specific moments.
“The only time that really exists is the present, and therefore, “Time Is Now” beautifully captures that idea and carries on in real-time the initial sentence in his statement. I am most looking forward to the unveiling of his timeline, the evolution of his work, and the development of the backbone of black art and its legacy in Detroit through the ‘Kin-Ship’ exhibition at MOCAD,” Lyndsay McGee said.
April McGee-Flournoy recalls that Gallery 7 was once a showroom for black artists and a forum for the neighborhood during the Detroit black arts movement. The seven black artists gathered to discuss their thoughts on black art, freedom, black pride, the promotion of artists, and the quality of the art created.
“It was inspired by the “Seven Black Artists” exhibit curated by my father at the Detroit Artists Market in 1969. My father hoped that the “quality of work exhibited would transcend ethnic barriers and the final judgment will rest in artist merit commensurate with the best art being produced in our time,” April McGee-Flournoy said.
It has been seven years since the impressive “Unity” mural and retrospective exhibition by Charles McGee was unveiled downtown. The exhibition was organized and curated by the Library Street Collective. Both sisters, passionate art lovers, and collectors eagerly anticipate the opening of Charles McGee’s forthcoming art exhibitions.
“We are grateful for the Curises, City of Detroit, Jefferson East, MOCAD, and many who have contributed to the art and culture resurgence in Detroit. My father loved Detroit and said, “It was a heaven for me; it has treated me with dignity and respect,” April McGee-Flournoy said.
Charles McGee passed on February 4, 2021, at 96 years old in Detroit.
Exhibition on display from May 18 to July 20, 2024
the Shepherd 1265 Parkview St, Detroit, MI 48214
‘Kinship: The Legacy of Gallery 7’
Exhibition on Display from June 28 to September 8, 2024
MOCAD 4454 Woodward Ave. Detroit, MI 48201