An exhibit to be housed at the Mostly African Market through June 3 features a cross-section of the works of A.D. Macklin, chairman of the Art Department at Jackson State University.

The exhibit features 13 works Macklin created over the 25 years he has exhibited at universities in the South and Northeast and includes oil and acrylic paintings as well as a few ceramic works. In the current exhibit, which opened Sunday at the market at the corner of St. Catherine Street and McCabe, women of African descent are featured prominently. A woman in red dances through one painting, while another carries a bucket while balancing a baby on her hip.

One is busy arranging a vase full of yellow flowers, while another, her hair wrapped in a turban, gazes into the distance.

&uot;These works are so dramatic, more dramatic than his last exhibit,&uot;&160;said Thelma Williams, director of Project Southern Cross, which is based in the Angelety House, where the market is housed.

Williams was referring to the market’s last exhibit featuring Macklin’s work – a show held eight years ago that included the work of several JSU faculty members.

&uot;We’ve had exhibits by African artists who used much brighter colors than these, although there is some color to (Macklin’s) works,&uot; Williams said. &uot;But there is definitely an expressiveness here.&uot;

Macklin’s ceramic works line the walls, except for one that stands in the middle of one of the two exhibit rooms. The work, titled &uot;I Have a Dream,&uot; brings black and white ceramic faces together in the same bowl.

Macklin said that when Williams saw a recent exhibit of Macklin’s works at JSU, she asked him to exhibit them again at the market.

&uot;And these are only half of the pieces I&160;had at the Jackson State exhibit,&uot;&160;Macklin said. Actually, with 53 pieces, the JSU exhibit was more than four times the size of the current show.

The Mostly African Market exhibit will be shown from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.