Details:
① Artwork:
American Comics #352, Billionaires...
This acrylic, marker, pen, and oil marker artwork—displayed in a clear plastic sleeve like comic books in a comic shop—was painted over the cover of an Action Comics comic book. In a comic book-style speech bubble, “White Boy” orders his team of billionaires: “To the space cruisers! Search the galaxy! FIND the downcast masses or the Capitalism dies!”
Superman trades his red cape here for a preppy pink sweater tied around his shoulders and transforms into a new character, “White Boy,” allowing the artist to satirically comment on the growing wealth gap in America, systemic racism, and paranoia.
Kumasi J. Barnett’s art subverts and imbues the often timeless genre of old comic books with historical awareness and present-day social consciousness. Barnett frequently changes their narratives to reflect current events and critique social and political issues, such as police brutality, systemic racism, fake news, and the machinations of our political system.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Influenced by the aesthetics and narratives of old comic books, Kumasi J. Barnett’s art subverts and imbues this often timeless genre with historical awareness and present-day social consciousness. Barnett frequently paints directly over copies of comic books, changing their narratives to reflect current events and critique social and political issues, such as police brutality, systemic racism, fake news, and the machinations of our political system.
Kumasi J. Barnett was born in 1974 in Baltimore, MD, where he currently lives and works. He received his MFA from The Ohio State University.
His artworks have been exhibited at Lowell Ryan Projects, Los Angeles, CA; The Peale, Baltimore, MD; the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, South Africa; The Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL; and elsewhere.
Barnett presented a solo booth with Lowell Ryan Projects at The Armory Show (2020) in the Focus section, curated by Jamillah James. His work has been featured in Artforum, Ammo, Vibe, Hyperallergic, Huffington Post, Autre, Artnet News, and The Guardian, among others.
This acrylic, marker, pen, and oil marker artwork—displayed in a clear plastic sleeve like comic books in a comic shop—was painted over the cover of an "Action Comics" comic book. In a comic book-style speech bubble, “White Boy” orders his team of billionaires: “To the space cruisers! Search the galaxy! FIND the downcast masses or the Capitalism dies!”More
- Unframed
