Garbo Hearne’s passion for art, creativity and community never fails to turn heads. Most recently, the local gallerist is the recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council’s 2024 Governor’s Arts Award for Arts Community Development, and rightfully so. She’s a mother, grandmother, business owner, art curator and art appraiser certified in African American art. For almost four decades, Hearne has been a pillar in the Little Rock art community, specifically noted for fine art preservation, promotion and education surrounding Black art.
The El Dorado native and former nurse practitioner’s legacy began when she and husband Dr. Archie Hearne III opened Pyramid Gallery in 1988. Disappointed in Little Rock’s lack of diversity in art culture, the two created a gallery that celebrates Black artists locally and abroad, even using fine art as a means to “educate clients on the historical value and generational wealth fine art creates.” Pyramid Gallery has evolved over its 35-year history into an art empire and now includes four businesses that make up the Hearne Art Consortium: Hearne Fine Art, Hearne Fine Art Consulting & Appraisal Services, Hearne Southern Auction House and Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing.
Hearne has earned a reputation as one of the most passionate and educated art collectors in Little Rock. She’s turned her businesses into a resource, using her passions to carry out a mission rooted in education and empowerment. Soirée met up with Hearne to talk about her career highlights, hopes for the gallery and status as a cultural icon.
When did you first take an interest in the arts, and how did it lead you to being a gallerist?
GH: We were young and fearless patrons who felt the need to make a difference. “Thoughts without practice is empty, and action without thought is blind.” – Kwame Nkrumah
… I caught the bug and realized how creatives and the arts shape the basis of humanity. I do love nursing, but I found another passion that is fulfilling and keeps me excited. I was very well educated, but ignorant of my history and culture. I wanted my children to be educated, but proud of their culture.
How would you describe the vision and programming of your gallery?
GH: We continue to evolve as a business and have become a community gathering place for creatives. We offer tours for schools and engage and encourage the artists we represent to share their knowledge through workshops and lectures. Our patron base is very diverse in age, gender and nationality. The community drives the programming. We host community forums and delve into social justice issues that affect our community.
Tell us about Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing and how it operates in relation to the gallery.
GH: Pyramid Art, Books & Custom Framing complements Hearne Fine Art immensely. It drives traffic to the space, and customers can make the fine art they purchase their own through quality custom framing. Plus, I love the design aspect of custom picture framing. Books are treasure troves of knowledge. We have all genres and can order any book in print. We also have amazing art books, which is my favorite section.
How do you find new artists, and what do you look for when considering them?
GH: I look for artists who have a certain passion and drive. They approach their work in a signature fashion which makes it recognizable without the need to see their signature. I find artists and artists find me. Over the years we have worked toward bringing them back for solo exhibitions to show the growth in their practice.
What makes the art scene in Little Rock unique compared to larger cities?
GH: I think people have more access here. It’s easy to move around Arkansas, and the quality of the artwork is outstanding. We have amazing guest artists come into the state. The arts bring people together wherever they are, and all of the institutions bring in a diverse range of artists, too.
What are your hopes for the gallery’s future?
GH: We’ve been excited by all the experiences we’ve garnered over the last 35 years and look forward to the years to come. We’d love to be around to celebrate our 50th anniversary and look forward to finding new artists as well as nurturing the practices of the artists we have relationships with to get there.
In your personal opinion, what is the most meaningful exhibit the gallery has hosted?
GH: “Pioneers of the Paint” was a highlight, bringing the works of four 19th-century artists together: Henry Ossawa Tanner, Robert S. Duncanson, Charles Ethan Porter and Edward Mitchell Bannister.
What has been the highlight of your career as a gallery owner so far?
GH: When the gallery turned 20, we curated an exhibition and published a coffee table book titled “Collaborations” with the artists we had worked with up until then and traveled the show to other cities. Over 50 artists are highlighted in the book.
Tell us about the exhibit we photographed you with. What inspired you to bring in Chukes’ “A Breath of Fresh Air?”
GH: It was exciting to see Chuke’s growth, continued intensity and use of color since we last showed his work in 2015. He continues to grow, and this particular body of work was developed in response to the pandemic.
What exhibits can we expect to be on view soon?
GH: In the spring of 2024, Hearne Fine Art will be featuring the textiles of Alice Aida Ayers, and in the fall, a new body of work by silverpoint artist Marjorie Williams-Smith.
What makes the Dunbar neighborhood so special, and what do you love most about it?
GH: Many notable Arkansans have called this part of the city home, Florence Price and Scipio Africanus Jones among them. Dunbar Middle School opened in 1929 as a junior and senior high school and junior college and continues today to educate young people. Located across the street are the Sue Cowan Williams Library and Allison Presbyterian Church.
I’m excited to be in a space surrounded by so much rich history. New homes are being built around us and businesses are opening on Wright Avenue. The Dunbar Historic Neighborhood is alive and thriving.
Tell us about your history in the local arts community and some of your accomplishments.
GH: Rex DeLoney was our very first gallery assistant. He is now the chair of the arts department at Central High and continues to make amazing work. Every year we highlight an Arkansan artist, and we have monthly book signings for Arkansan writers. I’ve served on the Arkansas Humanities Council and the Arkansas Arts Council and currently serve as a board member of the Mid-America Arts Alliance and Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. I work with the Central Arkansas Library System’s Six Bridges Book Festival, and Pyramid collaborates with CALS, LRSD and the Clinton Foundation to bring a children’s book illustrator yearly. I have collaborated with various businesses and organizations for over 20 years organizing the community celebration of Kwanzaa.
You recently received the Arkansas Arts Council’s 2024 Governor’s Arts Award for Artsâ¯Community Development. What does this award mean to you?
GH: I was surprised to be this year’s recipient. It’s quite an honor, and I accepted this award because of the many people who still take my phone calls. In 2014, l co-founded Arkansans for the Arts, Arkansas’ statewide arts advocacy organization with Bill Mitchell. Arkansans for the Arts supports the Arkansas Arts Council and advocates to the Arkansas legislature the economic value of the arts and the quality of life that the arts provide. It shows the importance of all the organizations I get to be a part of. There’s still work to do, but I believe this award is as much theirs as it is mine.
Garbo’s Top 5 Book Recommendations:
- “The Prophet” by Kahlil Gibran
- “In Search of Satisfaction” by J. California Cooper
- “All About Love” by Bell Hooks
- “Collecting African American Art” by Halima Taha
- “I Am You: A Book About Ubuntu” by Refiloe Moahloli
PHOTOGRAPHY
JASON MASTERS
HAIR & MAKEUP
LORI WENGER
CLOTHING
B.BARNETT
SHOT ON LOCATION AT
HEARNE FINE ART