NYAB Event - Taryn Wells "Color Lines"

Taryn Wells "Color Lines"

A.I.R. Gallery

This event has ended.

Color Lines brings a distinct viewpoint to the often overlooked history of the multiracial American and the complicated subject of racial classification. The featured works examine the dualities and dark truths of America through a new perspective. Wells’ self-portraits illustrate her personal relationship to the topic as the artist identifies as multiracial. The drawings are sometimes sardonic, sometimes somber, but always compelling.

By using graphite for the entire series, Wells creates sharp contrasts and a sense of isolation and grit, portraying her problematic place in the world as a multiracial individual. Most importantly, the medium transmits the continuous motif of black and white – both a thematic and literal translation of identity. The incorporation of the “box” motif suggests that the subject is under the viewer’s microscope, imparting feelings of constraint and limitation.

“Ms. Wells’ work “provides no easy answers in her exquisite drawings which grapple with the psychological implications of society’s definitions of racial identity. These monumental graphite drawings of her own face, some of them nearly three feet tall, combine portraiture, anatomy, pop culture, and an unflinching gaze to create an artistic tour de force.” -Susan Navarre, Executive Director, Brookline Arts Center

Color Lines asks us to discard our prior beliefs and look at race in a new manner, for Wells’ works offer an opportunity for dialogue concerning the plurality of race.