Howard Barry: Inertia

Local artist Howard Barry has gained significant attention for his illustrations inspired by the Ferguson protests, but he's not just an activist artist. Barry's drawings are a form of physical therapy and mental therapy. He creates to relieve his frustration with the world and his own pain. Using ink, coffee and various computer programs for effects, Barry creates images of artists, musicians, civil rights pioneers and modern-day protesters, all with an eye for gesture and a gift for imbuing something of his subject's character. James Baldwin's luminous eyes reveal his hurt and anger with the country that rejected him for his blackness and homosexuality, while a barefoot child pushing his way through cotton emerges from a page of sheet music for Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child." Inertia, an exhibition of Barry's artwork, opens with a free reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Saturday, September 14, at Gallery 210 on the University of Missouri-St. Louis campus (1 University Drive at Natural Bridge Road; www. gallery210.umsl.edu). The show remains on display through December 9.