oohart艺术

In 2020, the Brazilian-American artist Jonni Cheatwood departed from his graffiti-inspired abstractions and turned to figuration, reflecting on the socio-political realities of the moment in tableaux of interiors—both domestic and psychological. As the global pandemic kept the artist indoors, outdoors, the biggest spontaneous riot in American history transpired in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. These conditions led Cheatwood to the genre of portraiture, in the spirit of a self-composed lineage that includes Benny Andrews, Max Beckmann, Alice Neel, and fellow Angeleno Henry Taylor (their names appear on the spines of books in his compositions). In keeping with earlier bodies of work, Cheatwood creates custom, richly patterned surfaces comprising stitched-together scraps of canvas and other found materials, including denim, mesh, burlap sacks, t-shirts, and blankets. He often applies color directly from the tube or pastel stick, unmixed, working on several canvases at once. He describes his figures with a graphic, declarative line, often using a single color, red or black, to outline a shoulder, a jawline, or an afro; a decision reminiscent of Neel’s signature blue linework. Likewise, his subjects sit in direct address of the artist, as did Neel’s in her portraits of East Harlem residents in the 1940s and ’50s. We don’t know who Cheatwood’s figures are, but his prosaic, sometimes enigmatic titles reveal nuances of their character: SHE KNOWS EVERY VALET IN TOWN, HE CARRIES TWO CHAPSTICKS and VOICE OF AN ANGEL, BUT THE DRESS OF A VEGAS MOM (all 2021).