"Graceful" by Perrion Hurd, gold foil scratch paper, 8x10.

ON THIS PIECE

"Working with visual elements of classical religious iconography, sacred geometry and the movement of Afrofuturism, the artwork 'Graceful' is representative of Black spirituality. I'm my personal mythos, the solar deity is female. The energy flowing from the halo or nimbus denotes the radiance around the heads of saints and angels.

The geometric shapes and symbols that I often use around my figures are my interpretations of African design sources used to balance and connect each of my individual works to each other."

ARTIST BIO

Perrion Y. Hurd is a master printmaker, public art muralist and teaching artist. His subject matter revolves around his love of music and geometric shapes with strong lines and bold colors that reflect the influence of the Memphis Beale Street and New Orleans culture.

Hurd’s eight signature large-scale murals are prominently displayed on the exterior of the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center in downtown Little Rock. His skill as a muralist has also been commissioned by the historic Argenta Arts District in North Little Rock.

He is the official artist of the Arkansas River Blues Society where his bold jazz-and- blues-influenced graphic designs are used on posters, T-shirts and outdoor murals.

As a skilled printmaker, he is a featured lecturer and demonstrator at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art and Northwest Arkansas Community College in Bentonville. In 2021 his work was selected by the Hot Springs Arts Alliance to be featured in an outdoor art exhibit along the Hot Springs Creek Greenway Trail.

Hurd is also the recipient of the Governor’s Arts Awards' 2022 Individual Artist Award from the Arkansas Arts Council.

Find Hurd's work locally at HurdWiredStudios and Hearne Fine Art Gallery, or on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.