Looking for Family is a multimedia exhibition that emanates from the notion of mentorship, from the strong influence that Smoky Brown had on the life of Richard “Duarte” Brown, to the continuation of Duarte Brown’s mentoring activity in the present, which includes working with faculty and students from three Ohio schools: Berne Union High School in Sugar Grove, Benjamin Logan High School in Bellefontaine, and Whitehall-Yearling High School, in Whitehall, as well as with student artists involved in TRANSIT ARTS, in Columbus. Visit Beeler Gallery to see work from all three—Smoky Brown, Duarte Brown, and the high school students.
About the Smoky Brown Collection
Smoky Brown was born in 1919 in Dayton, Ohio. The young man then known as Russell Purce, Jr. apprenticed with his grandfather, who was an ornamental plasterer and later worked as a stone carver, muralist, sign painter, and cartoonist. Brown also worked on the carnival circuit, an experience that would influence his art in future years. In 1978, after retiring from General Motors, Smoky Brown became a full-time artist. A friend of older artists like Elijah Pierce and William Hawkins, Smoky Brown especially befriended youngsters just beginning their craft. Duarte Brown was one of his young artist followers after meeting at ACE Gallery in the Short North over 30 years ago. In 2019, Duarte Brown inherited the Smoky Brown Collection following the elder Brown’s death.
Duarte Brown’s “Eastside Canon” teaches new generations about elders’ influence; he refers to this Legacy as “Smoky and Friends.” Smoky Brown’s art was included in the exhibition Raw Spirit at Northern Kentucky University and in People, Places and Things: An African-American Perspective, at the Columbus Museum of Art. Smoky Brown also has work included in the permanent collection of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Watch this video from the Columbus Dispatch Magazines for more on Smoky Brown and his creative legacy.
Featuring:
Richard “Duarte” Brown + TRANSIT ARTS Youth Program
Transit Arts
Director - Jackie Calderone
Katerina Fuller, Malik Carrington, Malcolm Berry, Isabella Davis Polack, Esze Fuller, Anteneijah Garrett, Emilia Harned, Avante Martin, Kendrell Mills, Devyn Sledge, Princess Egbo
Berne Union High School
Faculty – Christina Clumm
Riley Eden, Hannah Shonk, Danny Garner, Madison Lopez, Stella Kness, Tobias Fish, Sadie Tolliver, Hunter Rager, Aubrey Carney, Mikey Miller, Emily Dawson, Julie Noethlich, Stephen Clumm, Grayson Clumm, Christina Clumm
Benjamin Logan High school
Faculty - Jennifer Davis
Rylee Ammons, Paityn Anspach, Cason Bothel, Courtney Bowers, Cayden Brown, Lahna Cook, Aiden Coons, Taytum Daniels, Tyler Dilich, Nora Elliott, Tavian Fay, Charley Hardman, Trinity Helton, Lauren Hemmelgarn, Izzy Henderson, JD Mathys, Davis Matthews, Roman Maxwell, Nadiya Powell, Kamryn Ridge, Sidney Sallee, G Saunders, Abbi Shaw, Miley Trees, Ryan Williams, Jazmine Sims
Whitehall-Yearling High School
Faculty – Sarah D. Hebdo
Melisa Aguirre Carpio, Erin Alderson, Hector Ardon Escobar, Patrick Arriola Gonzalez, Kenny Arroyo, Abele Ashagere, Cheyenne Bailey, Meade Bakeye, Ezekiel Bamgboye, Izayah Briggs, Jon'Nasia Brown, Justice Burke, Jack Calhoun, Evan Campos, Katherinne Campos Aguirre, Brandon Campos-Rivas, Shawn Cleveland, Thomas Collins, Bryan Contreras Reyes, Jakobie Criswell, De'Nae Crockett, Zahyra Cruz Diaz, Sandrine D'Haiti, Landon Feasel, Chrishawn Foster, Christopher Gonzalez, Phillip Guess, Cameron Hawes, Donye Headspeth, Petter Hernandez, Silas Hopkins, Marion Huff, Andre Jackson, Dwayne Jacobs Henry, Nakya Jennings-Jones, Kye Jones Aidan Jordan, Hermon Kiflemariam, Dejanique Knaff, Gloria Lemus Ramirez, Jose Lopez Rodriguez, Jakai Lundy, Tristan Maskew, Serenity McCumber, Azaria McDuffie, Natalie Melendez Rivera, Mathiana Moise Ny'Shea Nimmons, Riley Parker, Eric Phillips, Juan Ramirez Romero, Javier Ramos, Emery Ramsey, Yordin Raymundo Santos, Cassandra Rodriguez Aguirre, Romero Isis Romero De Leon, Jovanny Romero Gutierrez, Ty'Shawn Slate, LaMarion Taylor, Jair Vasquez, Honesty Warren, Dawit Woldegiorgis, Emma Wolff, Jordann-James Wright, Argelia Zelaya Vargas, Mayeli Zelaya Vargas, Mo Deing, Amy Cruz, Joshua Simmons
Faculty - Mrs. Wilcox and Ms. Rickman
Aaron Phillips, Avarrion Phillips, Zay Overby, Gage Saunders, Sofia Rosales, Nevaeh Howell, Emily Fairall, Christian Battle, Nick Sturgill, Tyree Shaw, Kayla Stephens, Zion Stephens, Mych’Shella Roseboro, Josh Adams, Brian Romero-McDaniel