FALL RESIDENCY SHOWCASE 2024

In this body of work, Between Blackness and Kitsch, Bryan W. Wilson explores the complex layers of kitsch through the lens of Black American culture, blending my research of, and influences and ideologies of Gerhard Richter, Odd Nerdrum, Vladimir Tretchikoff, Thomas Kinkade, Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Leonardo da Vinci. In so doing, I aim to challenge the traditional notions of “high” and “low” art, revealing the nuanced intersections where popular taste, cultural appropriation, and fine art collide. We as a culture may not use the term “kitsch” in our colloquial conversations but the power dynamics and conflicting priorities set in motion by critics such as Clement Greenberg has lasting effects.

Kitsch has long been dismissed as the domain of the sentimental and the superficial—a realm where authenticity is sacrificed for easy emotion and mass appeal. This was an intentional insult aimed at realist/representational artists. Yet, from a Black American perspective, kitsch carries a different weight: it becomes a canvas for irony, resilience, and recontextualization. My work here was an honest response and exploration that in a way seeks to vindicate those of us whose authentic work lies in representational and figurative work with the realization there is “more than meets the eye” regardless of how seemingly obvious the subject matter is.