21 April 2021

Brenna Youngblood meets Derek Chauvin in prison




I had never heard of Brenna Youngblood nor had I seen her paintings until this morning in an article in Hyperallergic, an online Art review.

After a quick zip around Google images to see her work I can see that she is a very visually intelligent and original artist though I don't feel a lot of her abstract work. But this could change with time. She is an L.A. artist and she makes a lot of, what I would call 'themed abstract work' though she herself describes it as 'abstracted realities'. In any case it yells out to the world that she has something to say and she possesses not only the graphic sensibilities to do it, but the force of her person too. 

I found this image above to be arresting, compelling, and I liked it immediately upon first sight. It happens one in a while but isn't frequent. 

It shouts out the way a great painting can; in silence without extraneous fanfare which is so all too frequent. Quite the opposite of Madison Ave, really great art is the steak not the sizzle.

She appears to be unafraid to use and integrate any and all types of objects to convey what she needs to say including in this picture, a sweater which has been attached onto the the surface. She used a spray can of mat black and there is a hint of red underneath to complement the sweater; Keeping it simple!

It is finished off with an étiquette or label hanging from the bottom corner of the picture like one would find in a thrift shop.

In this piece several ideas come forcefully  together like an imploding star. 

So on this day of reckoning in Minnesota I present her remarkable image.



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