Souvenir I 1997

Kerry James Marshall's "Souvenir I" (1997) is a large-scale painting that depicts a domestic scene, a Black woman arranging flowers in a living room. The painting's title, along with the portraits in the background, suggest a memorial space, referencing the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and John F. Kennedy. This work, now on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, uses a mix of realistic and stylized elements to explore themes of race, memory, and loss in Black American culture.