The Bold And The Beautiful

The majesty of Kerry James Marshall.

- Clarence V. Reynolds

The artwork of Kerry James Marshall has always spoken boldly. Since his early paintings in the 1980's, Marshall has created works with a clear and remarkable perspective. First, his portraiture and landscape scenes and the stories they convey are unapologetically Black: Black in color. Black in sensibility. Black in subject and theme. Secondly, Marshall focuses on and pays reverence to traditional Western painting genres. Third, his colorful and lush paintings are large-scale, some as high as 10 feet tall. All of these elements come together to illustrate quotidian Black life that reflect pridefulness, offer political messages, and represent feelings of intimacy and romance and culture in an impactful and stunning manner.