Henry Taylor: B Side
Oct 4, 2023–Jan 28, 2024
A Jack Move—Proved It
6
Most often based on iconic photographs of figures who have played a significant role in the larger cultural narrative, these paintings serve as powerful visual symbols of Black accomplishment and aspiration. Historically, portraits have been used to communicate authority, achievement, and social standing. Taylor's depictions of legendary figures within the Black community who have broken barriers and achieved world-changing political, artistic, or athletic success, advance this tradition. In honoring these figures, Taylor signals to the remarkable feats of ambition and overcoming that have inspired him.
Henry Taylor, It's H. I. M., 2012
Henry Taylor, It's H. I. M., 2012. Acrylic on canvas, 84 × 72 in. (213.4 × 182.9 cm). Collection of Amy and Harris Schwalb. © Henry Taylor. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photograph by Sam Kahn
This portrait of Haile Selassie, the former emperor of Ethiopia, was painted soon after Taylor’s trip to that country. Depicted here in military regalia while standing before a throne, Selassie (“His Imperial Majesty,” or “H. I. M.”) championed the decolonization of African nations and played a pivotal role in establishing the Organization of African Unity, which later became the African Union. Taylor joins Selassie’s image with textual references to coffee, Ethiopia’s most profitable commodity, and to Tupac Shakur, the globally recognized rapper and actor whose music addressed social inequality, mass incarceration, discrimination, and anti-Black police violence.