Yesterday, we were in the gallery at the Center for Visual Artists at the Cultural Arts Center on Davie Street. As we rounded the corner at the back of the gallery, we saw this painting that reminded us of a religious icon. It is a mixed media piece by Shayla Scales, who recently graduated from UNCG with a BFA in Fine Arts with a concentration in painting.

Perhaps the religious art seen in her study abroad in Florence, Italy inspired the above painting. However, from her artist’s statement we are surmising, it was her lived experience in North Carolina and interviews with other southern Black Christians that helps her better understand her experience and how Christianity evolved over the centuries. In the above photo, Grandma holds a Holy Bible and on the frame on the left, John 14: 1-3 is written out on the brass. This is the kind of artwork that you notice something new every time you look at it.

With the many colleges and universities in the Greensboro area, we have access to fresh ideas and visual perspectives on the world. The above piece is available to view as part of the “Scaled Up” show until September 20 at the Center for Visual Artists. This photo of it, with the backlighting through the window, doesn’t do it justice.

Happy Sunday.