Charles E. Humes Jr.

As a practicing visual artist for more than 50 years my concentration has been my interest in site-specific art that is relative, narrative, and about the common occurrences in life—specifically ethnicities, cultures, and the varied genre of African-American people and their communities. My body of work is a visual dialogue about people and the human element. Homelessness, poverty, isolation, addiction, hypocrisy, gentrification, and resilience with a hint of sarcasm are often subject-matter in my compositions that are realized in large-scale paintings, drawings, collages, multi-media mosaics, and expressive printmaking processes.

A Covid Expression: Corona and the Deadly Plagues

Charles Humes Jr. art forms use the processes of drawing the human figure in a way that carefully reveals the emotion and individuality of his subjects. Angled perspectives demonstrate visions of space and juxtaposition similar to Cubist fragmentation in what Humes terms as ‘Mosaic Collage‘ that allows him to be more expressive in his messaging while fueling his concentration’s growth and journey. The fusion of collage, drawing, and painting are tools deftly employed by the artist depicting matters of marginalization, alienation, and vulnerability, displaying a unique and remarkable range of technical expression.

His drawings and paintings are diverse statements about the genre of life using multiple media to develop a dialogue with the audience that speaks to beauty, passion, history; (past and present), drama, pathos, irony, and the brutal state of existence for Black and Brown people in our society today. The art of Charles Humes Jr. is a beautiful and poignant snapshot of his subjects, their conditions, and the rural and urban communal environment they inhabit.

© Variant Literature Inc 2021