SKIN + MASKS, Curated By Vic Mensa: Kavi Gupta | 219 N Elizabeth St

This portrait of a Ghanian woman biting her sunglasses by artist Foster Sakyiamah uses both abstract and figurative strategies to convey the woman’s inner state of mind. Her body language and facial expression suggest a feeling of fun and delight, a sensation mirrored by the whimsical curvilinear patterns and vivid color relationships surrounding her. Sakyiamah’s paintings document and celebrate the everyday people and fashions of the people of Ghana, where he lives and works. As is evident in this portrait, movement is an important aspect of Sakyiamah’s practice. He studied gymnasts in order to understand the mechanics of the human body, and to learn how to capture a sense of motion in his paintings. The intense graphic quality of his compositions is an expression of Sakyiamah’s appreciation for popular culture, as well as a reflection of his own interests in the history and principles of design. The energy and dynamism that defines Sakyiamah’s canvasses is heightened by his deft juxtaposition of complementary forces. His precise and hard-edged portrayal of human figures is contrasted with his elegant and lyrical use of gestural lines. His rich and luxurious palette of black and brown flesh tones mingles with a luminous and bright rainbow of background hues. Particularly captivating is the exactitude of Sakyiamah’s craft. The graphic flatness of his pictures from afar juxtaposes sublimely with the lush and painterly impasto texture of his painted surfaces when viewed up close.

Pinocchio story MVP is a 3D printed, corn-based organic plastic mask by Florence-based, Chicago born artist Thelonious Stokes. The limited edition work is available in multiple colors. The piece showcases how Stokes has felt pressured to hide his ethnicity, heritage, and traditional way of moving, speaking and thinking while in Italy. “The Pinocchio story is also based here in Florence, Italy,” says Stokes. “I find it interesting that while here I felt I had to withhold the truth and put on a mask in relation to Euro-centrism. I’m the only Black man in my environment here. It’s a moment of hiding, but at the same time the mask is empowering and hyper-infuses my West African heritage into moments when I and others meet and interact with each other.” The work can be hung on a wall, or can actually be worn by a human. The wearer’s eyes look through the hole where the mouth is, so the mask extends high above the wearer’s head. It’s design is inspired by a similar motif prevalent in African sculpting and masks, specifically within West African culture.

 This seemingly abstract composition by Erol Scott Harris is a record of physical impressions the artist made on the surface with his bare flesh. He created the work by dipping his body in pigment then pressing his flesh against strips of vinyl and linoleum flooring. The performative painting process involves Harris repeatedly lowering himself onto the painted surfaces via a series of ropes and pulleys suspended from the ceiling of his studio. For Harris, art is an arena in which to uncover how he can work with the body. Motivated variously by his connection to the narratives of his past and his desire to break free from them, he constructs situations in his studio that contain both structure and potentialities.

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.

This portrait by Thelonious Stokes portrays Louis Till holding his joyful son Emmett upon his lap. The portrait offers a noble glimpse of the Till men during a moment of calm, an image belying the tragic ends which befell both of these individuals. Louis Till and another soldier were hanged while serving in Italy by the United States army for crimes of which they were convicted after a single unsubstantiated confession from another soldier. Ten years later, Louis’s son Emmett Till was abducted and lynched in Mississippi at age 14 after a verbal encounter with a White girl in a store. The murderers of Emmett Till were found innocent. They later confessed publicly that they tortured and killed the young man, but were never punished due to a legal technicality. Stokes mobilizes his painting practice to examine Black identity and representation through various personal, social, and historical lenses, especially in the context of the colonial, mostly White structures and concepts that have traditionally defined what we are calling the “Western art historical canon.” Throughout his practice, Stokes has sought ways to reconceptualize the Black experience. Whether through his paintings, his performances, his videos, or his songwriting, he challenges the inconsistencies and myopic representations of Black identity offered by institutional systems of belief such as art history.

Whea the wild things are depicts two young men during a typical day on the block. The men are flashing stacks of cash and a firearm, showing a lot of confidence and power, but in the sky behind them a storm is gathering. The trees and grass are lush and verdant. Each man is wearing a mask. One mask is joyful; the other is serious. Their body language is playful, but something ominous is brewing. “With this piece I want people to think about the different emotions, how they relate to each other,” Coleman says. “I want to direct the viewer’s attention to the symbolism of the masks on the young men’s faces as well as the items in their hands. The need to protect and provide for one’s family through the pain and suffering of lost loved ones while also struggling to survive living in such a wild environment, causing the young men to put on a brave face, and all smiles through times of deep sorrow.”

This portrait of a stylish Ghanian woman embodies the signature style of artist Foster Sakyiamah. Notable for their contrasting, curvilinear patterns and vibrant colors, Sakyiamah’s paintings document and celebrate the everyday people and fashions of the people of Ghana, where he lives and works. Sakyiamah’s portraits convey a psychological attitude or state of mind through the facial expressions of the figures, their fashion styles, and through their body language. The intense graphic quality of his compositions is an expression of Sakyiamah’s appreciation for popular culture, as well as a reflection of his own interests in the history and principles of design. Sakyiamah is equally interested in the abstract and the figurative aspects of his paintings. His use of abstract patterns and designs contributes to the sense of movement that gives his paintings their intrinsic dynamism.