Houston Goes to Chicago: Jamal Cyrus “Manna and Braised Collards” at Patron Gallery

by Jennifer Battaglia May 25, 2021

Jamal Cyrus, Medicated Shield, 2021. Wooden pew, mandingas, sand bags. Photos by Jennifer Battaglia.

Houston-based artist Jamal Cyrus recently opened his first solo exhibition in Chicago, at Patron Gallery. This show, Manna and Braised Collards, will be followed by Cyrus’ solo exhibition at The Blaffer Museum of Art in Houston later this year.

Manna and Braised Collards features nine works that are created by using recycled or repurposed objects and materials. The exhibition is described as being “grounded in the collaboration of religion and social resistance as practiced in black America,” and inspired by “a long tradition of storefront churches in Chicago and the handmade design aesthetic that are often part of those spaces.”

I was in Chicago recently. Below are a few images from Cyrus’ show at Patron, which is up through May 29, 2021.