Deborah Roberts: I have something to tell you
9 June – 23 July 2022
Stephen Friedman Gallery
11 & 30 Old Burlington Street
Mayfair, London
W1S 3AN
Stephen Friedman Gallery is pleased to present Deborah Roberts’ second solo
exhibition at the gallery, ‘I have something to tell you’. This new body of work investigates the challenges encountered by Black children as they strive to build their identity. The exhibition brings together paintings featuring both black and white backgrounds, including some of the largest works the artist has ever made.
Roberts celebrates the figures’ individuality by placing them in stark monochromatic
spaces. Simultaneously powerful and vulnerable, heroic and insecure, the artist’s
subjects reveal how systemic racism, gender politics and western beauty standards
shape the way Black children grow up. Amongst the references that inform the series
are prominent incidents of racism in the UK, including the recent case of Child Q.
By mastering collage – a medium used since the early twentieth century to challenge
socio-political norms – Roberts exposes the inequities and violence of contemporary
society. Composing works from found materials such as magazines, literature and
photographs, the artist deconstructs stereotypes perpetuated by mainstream visual
culture. Roberts juxtaposes these with hand-painted details, combining a range of
skin tones, facial features, hairstyles and clothes to embrace an expansive view of
Black identity.
Coinciding with Roberts’ exhibition at the gallery is an all-female group exhibition that
explores the notion of collage. Co-curated by Roberts and Katy Hessel, founder of The
Great Women Artists podcast, ‘From Near and Far’ includes works by Jordan Casteel,
Lubaina Himid, Hudzanai-Violet Hawami and Amy Sherald amongst many others.
A major touring solo exhibition of Roberts’ work is currently showing at Art + Practice
in collaboration with California African American Museum, Los Angeles. The artist has
a forthcoming two-person show with Benny Andrews at McNay Art Museum, San
Antonio, Texas later this year.
©2022 Deborah Roberts, Stephen Friedman Gallery
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