Black Royalties #2 by Reginald Rousseau

Black Royalties #2 by Reginald Rousseau, 2022, Acrylic, Aerosol, Oil Stick, and gel, on reinforced vinyl canvas, 48 x 30 inches

This painting is one of four from the Black Royalties art series completed in 2022. In these paintings, I seamlessly blend elements of surrealist aesthetics into reimagining traditional portraiture, challenging conventional notions of beauty and representation. In these paintings, I also incorporate an eco-conscious theme, to envision a possible future where humans live harmoniously with nature and imagine an Afro-Future where Black people are at the forefront of environmental change.

Reginald Rousseau,  a Haiti-born and Harlem-raised contemporary folkloric artist is best known for his “Tropical Aesthetics” series, which encompasses paintings, mixed-media assemblages, and digital illustrations. Rousseau studied studio arts — figurative drawings and paintings, photography, and printing — at the City College of New York while pursuing a degree in architecture. His practice is the product of decades of experimenting with mixed mediums and pushing boundaries.