VIEWING ROOM: MASHELL BLACK
Live Artist Talk 11/17/2022
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Slide PDF
Mashell Black was the winner of Black Ball Projects’ 2022 Micro-Grant.
Press:
3D Virtual show: Akwaabagallery 2021
Yrb Magazine
New Jersey Stage
Artist talk with Newark Museum
PAINTINGS
Born in a small rural community on the island of Jamaica in 1980, Mashell Black found a calling in expressing himself creatively when school supplies and local resources were not available to provide him with the foundation of a traditional education. After moving to the United States in 1994, Black’s family encouraged him to continue pursuing his art. With the watercolor lessons that his step-grandmother gave him, he also learned to read and write, improving on the limited education he received in his native country. Black went on to excel in a traditional school environment in Tenafly, NJ, while maintaining his love of drawing and painting. With a substantial scholarship in hand, he attended Syracuse University, graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. Black continued his education and pursued a Master of Fine Arts at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts, completing his degree in 2006. From construction work to picture framing to substitute teaching, after graduation Black worked a number of jobs while building a space where he could concentrate on his art. Along the way, he also started his own house painting business. With the blessing of his wife, Rabiyah, Black returned to creating art, developing new techniques, and engaging the art world full-time in 2016.
STEAM ENGINE
48 x 80 inches, Oil on wood, 2021
With the start of the new decade, Black is expanding his art practice even further, channeling his experience as an immigrant and an African American. With one foot firmly planted in the world of painting and the other in drawing, his technique reveals a common theme of isolation as he exists between a state of belonging and not belonging, exploring the place he occupies between them. Equally devoted to both disciplines, Black now uses his creative talent to recognize the spiritual connection that art manifests within an observer, within a community, and within our society.
PLAYGROUND
104 x 138 inches, Oil on canvas, 2021
UMBRELLAS
20 x 24 inches, Oil on wood, 2020
PROCESS
INK DRAWINGS
TEMPORARY MURAL
CLOUD
12 x 16 feet, Latex on plywood, 2020
CHARCOAL DRAWINGS
PICNIC
8.5 x 11 inches, Charcoal on printer paper, 2020
Photographer: April Tracy
‘I create art that celebrates paint, lines and drips. Fascinated with the transitions of one mark to the next with every line and color in relation to each other, I use these relationships to reveal emotional journeys and craft engaging tales. I often share stories about my wife and son because love often inspires me. Other times, when I’m filled with anger and fear, I find painting is a fantastic place to resolve such primal emotions. And when I feel lost and alone, I reach back for some kind of ancestral connection. So I go back in time to connect and dance with my ancestors through this medium of paint. They love me and I love them. We dream together. And in this place, I’m free to imagine and create the worlds as I see fit. I need this kind of power and love, because being nervous and feeling like a victim often leaves me shaken and unfocused. But when I paint, relaxation takes over and intensity is replaced with peace. I become aware of every mark and sound around me, yet I remain willing to go wherever the painting needs to go. The spiritual connection I feel with my story, with my ancestors, and with my canvas is the reason why I make art. And it is this spiritual connection that also drives me to share these experiences that show up in my paintings.’ -Mashell Black