Philadelphia native Edward Hughes created three-dimensional mixed-media artworks characterized by geometric shapes, vibrant colors, found objects, and collage elements. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he attained a certificate in painting, then Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BFA. While traveling through Haiti, he witnessed Voodoo ceremonies and the blend of Christianity and West-African religions; its imagery is prevalent in his use of materials and symbolism.
His art was included in the group exhibitions We Speak: Black Artists in Philadelphia, 1920s – 1970s, Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia, September 2015 – January 2016, and The Chemistry of Color, African-American Artists in Philadelphia, 1970 – 1990, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, January – April 2005. Hughes’s works are in the collections of the Portland Art Museum and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts>; he also has completed public projects in Philadelphia with SEPTA With Art Philadelphia | Art in Transit.
