Sanaa Gallery features African-American artists (hint: this is the bf!!!)

Top line: The new Sanaa Gallery (named for the Swahili word meaning "work of art" and "beauty") adds a showcase for African-American art to the Fondren arena.

Sanaa Gallery and custom framing shop, located on the first floor of the Fondren Corner building, has its grand opening today. Music and refreshments augment the art draw.

"What I wanted to see in Jackson and particularly in Fondren was an art gallery featuring multi-ethnic and multicultural reflections," says owner Lorenzo D. Gayden, a Jackson artist and jazz trombonist. "I wanted to see more sculpture and different types of abstract art in an atmosphere that's upscale, comfortable and relaxed."

Gayden received a 2008 Miller Urban Entrepreneur Series grant of $15,000 after submitting and presenting a business proposal for the gallery.

Works include ceramic sculptures by Harold Miller, wood burnings in a Bob Marley series by Shambe Jones and a painting by Tony Davenport.

Gayden's own work testifies to twin loves of art and music, with musicians ablow, their energetic sound translated in hot colors and starbursts.

Good energy: Gayden, who attended Mississippi State University and was a fine art major at Jackson State University, was drawn to the Fondren area because of its vibrant mix.

"It seems to be very professional and at the same time, very interested in art - not just in the classical sense but in terms of its impact on culture.

"I think I bring a perspective and an experience a lot of Jacksonians can relate to and that's perhaps a bit different from what has been most commonly represented," Gayden says. "I think it fits in very well."

Gayden foresees exhibitions every other month, if not monthly, that'll focus on individual artists, themes and social and cultural topics.

- Sherry Lucas

Sanaa Gallery features African-American artists | clarionledger.com | The Clarion-Ledger.

Comments

[princessdominique]

Ooooo wonderful!

[nikki indigo]

BEAUTIFUL! JUST BEAUTIFUL! ya man is mad talented.

[Nikki]

This really makes me want to attend the opening.