Jacquez 

Curator: Let's talk about "Jacquez," a compelling mixed-media portrait by Alfred Conteh. At first glance, what strikes you about it? Editor: It’s melancholic, definitely, but not passively so. There’s a sort of active sorrow in that face. The way the acrylic paint is built up, scraped away...it feels almost like a geological dig. Layers and layers of history. Curator: Conteh certainly utilizes texture to create depth, both literally and metaphorically. It reminds me of lived experiences etching themselves onto the subject’s countenance. Editor: Exactly. I’m particularly drawn to the background. That speckled field contrasts wonderfully with the density of the figure itself. It almost suggests… dust, or maybe even a star-filled night. Materially, I wonder what he used to achieve that texture? Some sort of spattering technique, clearly, but the effect is so tactile. Curator: He builds up layer upon layer of texture using varied means. It's almost sculptural in places, wouldn’t you say? The way light plays across the surface adds another dimension to the expression. It feels both familiar and deeply abstract. There is something about this that is rooted in memories... the subject feels so palpable and present even though there is so much between their true visage and us as viewers. Editor: Agreed. And there’s something subtly political about using abstraction in portraiture, especially when representing Black subjects. It challenges the viewer to look beyond easy categorizations, forcing us to engage with the individual's interiority rather than surface appearances. The question arises whether a work such as this would be received differently, presented in a gallery of purely figurative works by White artists. Curator: I think so too. By using mixed media and expressionistic techniques, Conteh elevates this portrait beyond a simple likeness, it embodies emotion. So what feelings stay with you as we turn away? Editor: Definitely the layered complexity. The interplay of abstraction and representation raises all sorts of questions about how we see—and fail to see—one another.