Former Charlotte Hornets player Elliot Perry and his wife Kimberly Perry have opened an exhibition of their abstract art collection at the Harvey B. Gantt Center in Charlotte. Titled "Beyond Boundaries: Black Abstraction in the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Art Collection," the show features 40 works by Black artists from the early 1920s to the present, including recent college graduates. The exhibition spans all three of the Gantt Center's galleries and runs through August 30. Elliot Perry, who played for the Hornets in the 1991-92 season, was introduced to art in 1996 by former NBA player Darrell Walker.
The exhibition matters because it highlights the collecting practices of a prominent Black couple who view themselves as "custodians" and "gatekeepers" of Black art, focusing on abstract and conceptual works that tell stories of Black history and culture. By bringing this collection to Charlotte—a city with a significant Black population—the Perrys aim to test and expand audience engagement with Black abstraction. The show also underscores the growing recognition of Black collectors and artists in major institutions, as the Perrys have previously been honored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History in Detroit.