The North Carolina Central University Art Museum is proud to announce a major exhibition celebrating the extraordinary work of NCCU alumnus Eric A.W. Kelly III, founder of Kelly Worldwide Advertising, an advertising and marketing agency. He is also the director of the Eric Kelly III Museum and one of the most transformative abstract expressive artists of our time. Running from Tuesday, October 21, 2025, to Sunday, January 4, 2026, the exhibition, Human Landscapes: The Mystery of the Mark, presents a groundbreaking fusion of color, sound, and emotional storytelling through paintings spanning seven decades of artistic mastery. In this groundbreaking show, Kelly will present some of his early masterpieces from his days at NCCU, leading up to his present style, known as neo-abstract expressive.
Eric Kelly III’s visionary style — marked by bold black lines, synesthetic color experiences, and deeply expressive portraiture — has shaped a new visual language that bridges abstraction and identity. Kelly returns to his alma mater to debut a multisensory journey that explores the human condition through dynamic compositions, vivid colors, and original music scores, and shares his new movie documentary “Human Landscapes” during the exhibition. The image here is Eric Kelly III’s Unspeakable Joy.
