“The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” Might Not Hold True For Much Longer 2013

Njideka Akunyili Crosby made “The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born” perhaps with acrylic, collage, and maybe even solvent transfer. Look at how the figure sits on the floor. It’s covered with what seems like personal photographs. It looks like a dance between painting and images from real life. I can imagine the artist piecing together fragments of memory and experience, layering them onto the canvas like a collage of thoughts. She is doing what all artists do, and what I also love doing: experimenting with textures, colors, and layering. This layering helps you look closer and wonder: what is real? What is memory? What is the dreamed reality that painting can be? Her way of mixing paint and photographs feels a bit like other artists I admire – maybe someone like Romare Bearden? Njideka's painting shows us how art can be a conversation across time and place. It's about feeling our way through uncertainty and ambiguity and creating something beautiful and meaningful out of it.