rEN Dillard’s “Letters to Deja” 

rEN Dillard does not see himself as an artist but as an alchemist, turning nothing into something. “All of this work started out as blank panels or blank canvas, and I had to work it all the way up to the point that you see it now,” Dillard said. In his solo exhibition, “Letters to Deja” currently on display at the Mason Fine Art Gallery, Dillard transforms materials into visual narratives that bridge familial separation, racial consciousness, and esoteric philosophy. The exhibition, which opened November 15th and runs through January 15th, 2025, is a visual correspondence to his estranged daughter, Deja, now in her 20s.Originally from Savannah, Georgia, Dillard’s artistic journey took flight in Philadelphia around 2005 when he was 28. Initially drawn there for spoken word poetry, Dillard found his love for the visual arts in the city of brotherly love, inspired by Philadelphia’s known mural scene: “I bought cheap acrylic paints and created my first painting. A friend saw it and was amazed, asking where I bought it. That moment was a catalyst; I realized art was at its& & core.”& His first breakthrough came through curator Lilliana DiDovic, who gave him six months to prepare for his...