Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia, the upscale lifestyle hotel nestled in bustling Rittenhouse Square, is celebrating Black History Month with Soft Light, a group art exhibition showcasing works by four Black women artists, curated by Philadelphia-based curator and visual artist Chelsey Luster. Rooted in Hyatt Centric Center City Philadelphia’s commitment to celebrating local culture, creativity, and community, Soft Light continues the hotel’s ongoing “Maker Series,” an initiative highlighting Philadelphia-based artists and creators. The exhibition brings together a thoughtful mix of painting, mixed media, and figurative works that explore light as both a visual and emotional force — illuminating identity, intimacy, reflection, and resilience through deeply personal perspectives.
Curated by Philadelphia-based curator and visual artist Chelsey Luster, Soft Light reflects Luster’s collaborative, care-driven approach to exhibition-making, shaped by her extensive work with leading cultural institutions throughout the region. Luster has curated exhibitions for organizations including Mural Arts, IceBox Project Space, Da Vinci Art Alliance, and the William Way LGBT Community Center, and most recently curated the annual Philadelphia Fellowship for Black Artists exhibition with Mural Arts. In addition to founding and directing Luster Gallery + Studio in Olde Kensington, she currently serves as Exhibition Manager at Philadelphia’s Magic Gardens, where she oversees exhibitions and leads the Julia Zagar Residency for Women Artists.
The exhibition features work by the following artists:
- Brittany Baum, an American painter and illustrator born in Camden, New Jersey and based in the Philadelphia region. Her bold, imaginative portraits of Black women draw from vintage editorial imagery and Afrocentric elements, using oil paint, pastels, markers, and colored pencil. Baum was a 2024 Mural Arts Philadelphia Fellow and has exhibited at Rutgers University–Camden and Art at the Atrium in Morristown, New Jersey.
- Devyn Dais, a Philadelphia-based figurative abstract painter whose work explores intuition, emotion, and the expressive power of color. A graduate of the Tyler School of Art and Architecture, she is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Art Education at Moore College of Art & Design. Working with acrylic, pastels, and mixed media, Dais creates layered compositions intended to evoke grounding and reflection.
- Michele Pierson, a Philadelphia-based contemporary surrealist painter whose work examines the intersection of the physical and metaphysical through explorations of space, light, and form. She earned her BA in Studio Art and Art History from Spelman College and has exhibited nationally, including at Abington Art Center, Ubuntu Gallery, and Woman Made Gallery in Chicago. Pierson is a recipient of numerous fellowships, including the 2024 Black Artist Fellowship from Mural Arts Philadelphia.
- Susan Ragland, a Philadelphia-based artist with a 30-year career largely developed outside traditional gallery systems. Her work is held in major public and private collections nationwide, and she has exhibited at institutions including The Colored Girls Museum, the Montclair Art Museum, and the Woodmere Art Museum, where she received the Hugh and Marian Scott Prize. Ragland was also a 2024–2025 Black Artist Fellow with Mural Arts Philadelphia.
Soft Light will be on view through February 27, offering hotel guests, locals, and art enthusiasts the opportunity to engage with contemporary work that reflects the depth, nuance, and quiet brilliance of Philadelphia’s Black artistic community.
(Soft Light curator, Chelsey Luster)