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Artworks
Jahlil Nzinga
PURE ..NO CUT, 2021Acrylic paint, Calligraphy ink, Aerosol, Solid state marker, Charcoal56 x 47 x 2 in
142.2 x 119.4 x 5.1 cm8326Further images
This painting embodies the free, lyrical painting style of Los Angeles-based painter Jahlil Nzinga. Raised in the Bay Area, Nzinga was immersed at a young age in the performing arts....This painting embodies the free, lyrical painting style of Los Angeles-based painter Jahlil Nzinga. Raised in the Bay Area, Nzinga was immersed at a young age in the performing arts. His mother was the founder of the first all-Black theater troupe in California, and as a teenager Nzinga was one of the founding members of The Pack, a groundbreaking Bay Area Hip Hop group signed to the Jive Records label. Concepts related to Improvisation and performative movement that he learned on stage and in his music career are an important part of Nzinga’s painting practice. As seen in this painting, he layers his compositions with a series of gestural markings, automatic drawings, color fields, and abstract markings. Though his compositions tend toward figuration, he never has a clear end in sight when he begins a painting. Rather, he lets intuition guide him toward a composition that captures the raw energy of his process.
