“An artist paints his own reality”
- Ernie Barnes
While the preservation of Durham’s Black Wall Street legacy is contained in monuments, plaques and historical markers, its artistic history remains an ever-evolving story. Artists play an important role in preserving history and making it. With this in mind, Ella West is dedicating its inaugural show to the late Durham artist, Ernie Barnes.
Barnes, who was born in 1938, grew up in the Bottom, a segregated area of Durham, where he attended Hillside High School and later North Carolina Central University. Barnes studied art and played football, and after being drafted by the Baltimore Colts he played professionally for the San Diego Chargers and the Denver Broncos. After retiring from football he remained connected to sports, featuring athletes from all stripes as the subjects of his works.
For Barnes, life in Durham, specifically his upbringing in the Bottom, shaped his artistic oeuvre. His work outlines the contours of his life from the lively game day parades at North Carolina Central University, the crippling pain of the gridiron, or the nurturing presence of doting Jewish grandmothers on Fairfax Avenue in Los Angeles who reminded Barnes of the Black matriarchs of Willard Street in Durham. Three pieces by Barnes will be featured in The Return to Parrish Street: A Dream Realized.