Matted and framed drawings hang on the walls while 3D designs in glass are in the center of the Margaret Ray Student and Family Gallery.
The community space inside the Chrysler Museum of Art hosted an opening reception recently, however, most artists weren’t there to hear about how their work centered on finding hope through creativity.
Nearly all of them used pencil, paper, potato chip bags, torn People magazine pages, soap, crayons and the simplest of tools to create something original while remaining behind bars—some added color by emulsifying the ink from magazines using deodorant.
“Beyond the Block” features the artwork of inmates in the Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach jails. Each artist is identified only by first name and first initial of the last.
The exhibition title refers to the physical spaces where prisoners reside and the societal and personal barriers they strive to overcome.
“The United States incarcerates a lot of people and they’re not going to be in jail for life,” said Chrysler Director Erik Neil. “They’re going to be back and join our community. In as much as art can be part of the transition or be an alternative of what got them into jail, is important."
The inmates had to be resourceful with materials.
Pamela R. used juice packets, watercolor, magazine paper and toothpaste for her collage, “Just a Bunch of Grapes.” Having her artwork on view at a renowned museum “means a lot because I’m from this area and it’s something to be proud of even though I’m behind bars,” she replied in response to questions submitted through a public information officer with the Virginia Beach Correctional Center.
Antonio W. only needed a pencil to draw a striking portrait of the former presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Batteries and metal on paper make up Emily D.’s “i-nmate.”
Many of the works shared powerful messages, including a drawing of a handgun next to a Bible with the word “Choices,” written above it with a question mark dotting the i.
Some are poignant.
“I miss you,” reads the calligraphy above intertwined wedding rings in “Longing” from Jonathan W.
An art therapy class at the Norfolk City Jail contributed a series of masks that combined acrylic paint and feathers titled “The Masquerades of Our Minds.” Seven Cities Writers Project, which brings creative workshops to jails, facilitated the class over eight weeks.
The most detailed design came from Joshua G. combining ink, felt, aluminum and adhesive on paper. His 3D jail cell is eerily realistic. A toilet seat has no cover. A Bible rests on a lumpy orange cot, graffiti on the walls. Days are checked off on a calendar tacked to the wall. There are white bars made from toilet tissue. The title reads “Fathers Matter.”
The first “Beyond the Block” exhibit started as a partnership between the museum and the Virginia Beach Sheriff’s Office in 2017.
Late into the recent reception, a man walked in alone wearing work boots. He spotted a pen-on-paper drawing titled “The Great Get Back” and stood in front of it with a grin.
“What do you think?” he asked anyone who paused to observe the attractive stripper, contrasting shades of gray highlighting her long hair, stacks of cash bundled in $100 increments in front of her.
He is Ray M., the artist released last month by the Virginia Beach Correctional Center. The smile never left his face watching others admire his art.
“I wanted to expand people’s idea of what beauty is,” he said. “You can find beauty in anything.”
Ray regards himself as a musician rather than an artist. He credits his art teacher at Birdneck Elementary in Virginia Beach for the inspiration to create. He admitted, “It’s weird to see my art in a museum.”
Drawing the woman whose name he can’t recall helped him pass several nights in his cell.
“Beyond the Block” will be on display through March 3. Admission is free.
