This year I’ve been intentional in wanting to focus on creating portraits that reflect my Asian heritage and identity, and I’ve been incredibly inspired by black figurative artists. Historically, when black people were depicted in Western art, it was often as a caricature or in another derogatory way. That’s why these portraits, done by contemporary black artists, are so powerful. I can only imagine the impact seeing these portraits in person - many times larger than on my mobile phone screen - staring back at me in a gallery or museum space. These artists have inspired me to want to create portraits so that more Asian faces are also represented in such paintings.
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Please let me know if there’s any other portrait artists you love - I’d love to check out their work. Also, I’ve noticed that there aren’t many Asian portrait artists (or that I know of! I’m thinking of Yue Minjun, Zhang Xiaogang...who else? I also recently discovered @miznegi’s captivating paintings of Asian human figures). Would love if you could suggest some names so I can start doing a bit of research!
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Artists featured here:
@kehindewiley
@njidekaakunyilicrosby
@amoakoboafo
@tschabalalaself
@ninachanel
@asherald
#tituskaphar
@kara_walker_official
@kerryjamesmarshs
@jamillaokubo
