Henry Taylor: B Side
Oct 4, 2023–Jan 28, 2024
A Jack Move—Proved It
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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, I Am a Man, 2017
Henry Taylor, I Am a Man, 2017. Acrylic on paper, 16 1/2 × 11 5/8 in. (41.9 × 29.5 cm). Private collection. © Henry Taylor. Courtesy the artist and Hauser & Wirth
Taylor’s close-up portrait of the hip-hop mogul and businessman Jay-Z was commissioned for the cover of the 2017 holiday issue of The New York Times Style Magazine and painted from memory. The work’s title recalls the slogan featured on the picket signs of striking Memphis Sanitation workers in 1968 and used during the Poor People’s Campaign for economic justice, led by Martin Luther King Jr., in Washington DC that same year. Applying the phrase to this portrait suggests that even Jay-Z, despite his wealth and cultural status, is not beyond the reach of America’s racism and still needs to assert his humanity.