Ebony Blevins, "Legacy," cyanotype on 100% Arnhem cotton rag

Online art exhibitions have gotten better and better over the pandemic, but there’s no way to fully replicate in pixels what it feels like to peruse exciting work on the walls with its creators hanging out in the same room. Hearne Fine Art is exhibiting works from Ebony Blevins, who works in cyanotype to create realistic print images; self-taught illustrator, painter, muralist and printmaker Perrion Hurd; and expressionist painter Adaja Cooper.

Adaja Cooper’s “Nina and Lauryn,” acrylic and oil on canvas

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The artists will be on site in the gallery at 1001 Wright Ave. this weekend between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Friday, Feb. 25 and Saturday, Feb. 26, and the work stays up at Hearne and online through March 19.

Perrion Hurd, “Graceful,” scratch paper etching

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Blevins also gives a talk Sunday, Feb. 27, via Zoom, and you can catch past talks from Hurd here, and from Adaja Cooper here. A bit from the gallery about each of the artists:

Perrion Y. Hurd (b. 1972) is a self-taught illustrator, painter, muralist and printmaker living and working in Little Rock, Arkansas. The body of work he has created for “Emerging Arkansas Artists: When We See Us”, draws heavily on the visual aspects and representation of Black Spirituality, sacred geometry and the movement of Afrofuturism which features and incorporates elements of Black history, culture and humanity in a modern futuristic or science fiction setting. A muralist and graphic designer of note, Hurd is the recipient of the Individual Artist Award for the 2022 Arkansas Governorʼs Arts Awards.

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ADAJA COOPER is a national award-winning, published artist from Little Rock, Arkansas. Born in Magnolia, Arkansas, Adaja has always expressed an interest in artwork by creating drawings and comic strips. At the age of 17, Adaja began to experiment with bright colors and immersive portraits, and has fallen in love with painting ever since.

During the summer of 2017, Adaja was accepted into Arkansas Governor’s School, where she further developed her skills with acrylics and oils. Along with winning multiple state competitions for her art, including AYAA (Arkansas Young Artists Association), she has been to national competitions competing with her paintings. In 2019, she won third place in the painting category at the National NAACP Act-So Competition in Detroit. Adaja’s art has also been published in the Mahyue Magazine, and Hendrix College’s Aonian Literary Magazine. Adaja’s art has also graced the cover of JABSE (Journal of the Alliance of Black School Educators) magazine. She also created a painting for the Central Arkansas Library System, and the art is featured on a billboard in Little Rock, Arkansas. Adaja had been in multiple galleries including The House of Art, Acansa, and The Baum Gallery. Adaja is currently pursuing a Visual Art Degree and Business Minor from Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas.

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Since the age of 5, EBONY L. BLEVINS knew she would be an artist when she grew up. She picked up a camera at age 8 and began her journey in a 4-HC Club in Pine Bluff. At age 12, she won her first award, the top prize of a Rosette in 4-H, with a photo essay called “A Day at the Zoo.” The essay was shot entirely with a 110 film camera. Blevins continued to take photos throughout high school and was a member of the yearbook staff. She decided to major in art at Arkansas State University until a professor told her that “art wasn’t for her.” She switched to journalism with an emphasis on photojournalism. She provided photos for the yearbook and was a sports photographer for the student newspaper. Blevins earned her degree and worked as a staff photographer for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

Blevins is proficient in several types of photographic processes, including cyanotype. She is interested in a variety of subjects, including portraiture and social justice. Today, Blevins is a freelance photographer for several statewide publications and an exhibiting artist. Blevins is active in supporting and developing other artists and Arkansas’s arts communities. She has worked with Mosaic Templars Cultural Center and is also on a team that has been looking into developing living and work spaces for artists in Central Arkansas. (Source: Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, Division of Arkansas Heritage).

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