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“The Last Stair” emerges as a collaborative effort between two Chicago artists whose latest endeavors revolve around the concept of reclamation. Star Line Gallery represents a space both celebratory and vulnerable, providing a platform for Black artists to recount their narratives and share their rich histories. The forthcoming project features works created in partnership with visual artists across the Diaspora, redefining the notion of ‘album art’ and creating compelling conversations and meditations on Black life. The reclamation of the past is a powerful source of inspiration for Chance, whose Star Line Gallery works “Child of God” (collaboration with Gabonese artist and painter Naïla Opiangah), “A Bar About A Bar” (collaboration with Chicago-based painter Nikko Washington and filmmaker Troy Gueno), “The Highs & The Lows” feat. Joey Bada$$ (collaboration with Gabonese photographer Yannis Davy Guibinga), and "YAH Know" (collaboration with Chicago-based visual artist Mía Lee) have been showcased at art institutions around the world including EXPO Chicago, Art Basel, Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA), The Art Institute of Chicago, and Los Angeles’ Museum Of Contemporary Art (MOCA).
Thelonious, the first African American oil painter to graduate from the Florence Academy of Art, is celebrated internationally for his pioneering technique of 'Blackwashing' to reclaim narratives by prominently featuring Black figures in his art. His recent portrayal of Emmett Till and his father, Louis, garnered global attention at Art Basel. In his latest work, "The Last Stair," Thelonious continues this tradition by utilizing Judeo-Christian themes to challenge the worn-out tropes of the Western canon. Informed by his identity as an African American and his sense of being underrepresented in conventional Christian art, Thelonious presents the birth of Christ in a way that speaks directly to the diaspora, challenging prevailing mono-cultural norms.
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