On Award Tour

From LA to The Bay, Troy Lamarr Chew II Shines

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Troy Lamarr Chew II is a precious gem who fittingly paints symbolic glints and sparkling jewels. He won the prestigious Tournesol Award and residency at San Francisco’s Headlands Center for the Arts in 2020, and when the studios temporarily closed, Troy headed back to his LA studio to continue painting for two solo shows, both stunners.

Kristin Farr: Tell me about your show at Parker Gallery.

Troy Lamarr Chew II: It was titled Fuck the King’s Horses and All the King’s Men. It was inspired by an incident that happened the night I graduated from undergrad. I got beat by the police when I was walking home, and then thrown in jail. They knocked my teeth out, and I was trying to make a show remembering that. I made three paintings in the shape of a grill or a tooth, and each one commemorates the teeth I lost. I was thinking about the fragility of life, and teeth, specifically.

The glasslike self-portrait was made at The Headlands center for the arts, right when I had gotten the Tournesol Award. I was thinking about my place in San Francisco, as a black dude, and I was also Uber driving. It was this weird feeling of invisibility in several aspects of my life, so I wanted to recreate that in a painting.

I’m so sorry that happened to you with the police. You’ve said it was a catalyst.