Mashell Black
Image: Mashell Black in studio, 2023 (Photo: Courtesy of Mashell Black)
SOUL WORKS
February 1 - February 23, 2024
Curated by Alyssa Alexander
New York, NY, February 1, 2024 – La MaMa Galleria is honored to present the opening of artist Mashell Black in his solo exhibition SOUL WORKS, curated by Alyssa Alexander. The opening for this exhibition is scheduled for Thursday, February 1st, and will be on view through February 23rd, 2024.
As we embark on a new year, with the echoes of recent global events following in tow, Newark-based artist Mashell Black’s energetic painting practice employs empathy as a guiding medium. Processing a range of emotions across canvas and panel, Soul Works is a visual journey and reflection on the interconnectivity of human experience.
Trained in classical figure painting, Black approaches abstraction with the human body in mind - obliterating arms and legs with swaths of vibrant colors. Originally conceived as commissioned portraits from the ancestral realm, many works suggest a figure compositionally but dissolve into the artist’s signature use of geometric motifs and active brushstrokes. For Black, channeling the pain and frustration of contemporary issues into a painting means more decisive work - a work that hones in on a specific “gripe” and goes about explaining it imaginatively. While the artist doesn’t feel he has earned the right to paint about certain issues (acknowledging the privilege of being free to express himself creatively) he insists that it is his duty to do that work for those in the world who can’t. Humanness, that is more than just the figure, is foundational to Black’s practice. As he developed these “portraits” over the past few years, he considered how they interacted with our diasporic histories as well as the intricacies of the present. Perhaps more importantly, he questions what they will represent when future generations look back at this current iteration of humanity. How do his amalgamations of fear, fantasy, and disillusion translate to tangible evidence of having lived through this time? Unsurprisingly, human interaction is essential to his process. Black often thinks of painting as assemblage, an active putting together of images, people, and experiences. The interactions and interventions of his peers, family and sometimes strangers all find their way into the works. While working on murals, he often invites passerby to add to the piece, noting the varied intensity at which individuals engage. This practice evolved into what the artist describes as a collaborative, ceremonial space of creating temporary murals with loved ones at home in the aftermath of COVID-19 lock-down isolation. Black recognizes this facet of his artmaking as the most fulfilling, and in turn the most successful, and he works diligently to disassociate making art from selling art. For Black, art is something you do to heal the soul.
For press inquiries, images and interview request, please contact the gallery at
lamamagalleria@gmail.com
