Tschabalala Self
Recommended
In the first solo museum presentation of her work in this country, New Haven–based Tschabalala Self’s art resists the norms of traditional portraiture. Dealing with the “iconographic significance of the Black female body in contemporary culture,” the figures in Self’s work both accept and reject the stereotypes and fantasies surrounding the Black female body. They are not there to instruct or reprimand, but to simply be. At once garish, cheeky, and thought-provoking, Self’s use of collage gives the paintings a textured look that makes you want to reach out and touch them (don’t, though).
by Jas Keimig