Details:
① Artwork:
Black Lead in Film
This painting pulls its title and inspiration from the Rio Cortez poem “Black Lead in a Nancy Meyers Film,” which describes soft, leisurely vignettes of an aging Black female protagonist who enjoys little splendors, such as relaxing by the ocean, going on jogs, learning French, and experiencing joys with her friends and family.
Like many paintings in this series, the artist uses cinematic tropes from feel-good, romantic movies but intentionally places Black figures in their leading roles as the protagonists.
Alexis Pye’s practice explores the tradition of portraiture through the Black body as seen outside its social constructs. Her formal strategies integrate mixed media with painting, embroidery and punch-stitch needlework.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Alexis Pye’s practice explores the tradition of portraiture as a way to express the Black body outside of its social constructs. By placing her subjects in leisurely, luscious, nature-rich, and even fantastical settings, her artworks evoke a unique playfulness, wonder, Blackness, and joy amidst adversity. Her formal strategies integrate mixed media with painting, embroidery and punch-stitch needlework.
Alexis Pye was born in 1995 in Detroit, MI, and resides in Houston, TX. She received her BFA in Painting from the University of Houston in Houston, TX (2018).
Pye has mounted solo exhibitions at the Lawndale Art Center in Houston, TX (2023), and Inman Gallery in Houston, TX (2021).
She was also included in group shows such as Mythofuturiddim at Winter Street Studios in Houston, TX (2022); Houston Rockets x CAMH at the Contemporary Arts Museum Houston in Houston, TX (2022); My Mirror Is Fine, curated by Miles Payne at the Community Artists Collective in Houston, TX; and Animal Crossing at Inman Gallery, Houston TX (2022).
This painting pulls its title and inspiration from the Rio Cortez poem “Black Lead in a Nancy Meyers Film,” which describes soft, leisurely vignettes of an aging Black female protagonist who enjoys little splendors, such as relaxing by the ocean, going on jogs, learning French, and experiencing joys with her friends and family.More
- Unframed
- Signed
