21c Museum Hotel In Bentonville, Arkansas: What It’s Like and Why You Need to Stay | Grits & Grace
January 21, 2019 | Words by Natasha Brown
Elevate
Before you even enter you room, the corridors leading to them are art exhibits as well. One piece that I found interesting on my floor, depicted the beating of Rodney King.
Hubert Neal Jr. (Bentonville, AR)
L-R
Rodney King #2, 2018
Maybe, Possibly, One Day, Hopefully, 2018
Another Day On The Job, 2018
The graphic figures in Hubert Neal Jr.’s paintings enact stark representations of both violent conflict as well as a gesture of peaceful reconciliation. An artist of Belizean descent, Neal’s symbolic, confrontational images deal plainly with all-too-common instances of conflict between African American men and law enforcement, while also offering inspiration and hope for social progress as it relates to race in America.
I love how 21c Bentonville uses this opportunity to feature prominent artists from the area/region in their hotel. All of the art exhibited through the Elevate exhibition is contemporary pieces. So while there was some I didn’t understand (like the couch), pieces like this evoked a lot of emotion from me, and I absolutely loved it.
