A Mount Rainier artist’s pieces on the history of African-American exploitation have gained notice with a new exhibit.

Dwayne Eugene Martin, a multimedia artist who works out of Red Dirt Studio on 34th Street, has a show called “Rise” at the Honfleur Gallery in Anacostia.

The featured paintings are massive, sometimes stretching as much as six feet, and combine elements of graffiti, expressionism and pop art akin to Keith Haring in order to convey the powerful emotions driving his work.

In a review this weekend, the Washington Post noted that, for Martin, “painting is a form of physical exertion, akin to the toil of the Black people whose efforts are suggested (but not literally shown) in ‘The Hands That Built America.’”

In a note on the exhibit, Martin said he hopes to show emotion through his work.

“As a painter, I find that I can communicate without talking, but through feeling and emotion,” he said. “As a self taught artist, my work can be categorized in different forms, but is frequently classified as abstract.”

The exhibit at Honfleur is open through Saturday, but you have to make an appointment. For more information on socially distanced tours, contact Honfleur.