Gold Ornaments & Precious Stones Adorn Tender Portraits by Tawny Chatmon

September 27, 2023 10:11 PM

Gold Ornaments & Precious Stones Adorn Tender Portraits by Tawny Chatmon. More art by Tawny Chatmon at this link. "Often centering her portraiture on adolescents, Chatmon is visionary, imagining a time when children are living in peace, being safe, being protected, being free of stereotypes, living freely and joyously, being treated gently by the world. This dream is rooted in a long-held desire for young Black people to be recognized as inherently valuable and significant, visualized through the artist’s signature glimmering embellishments."
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (7 comments total)

The work of Tawny Chatmon has always brought that of Gustav Klimt to my mind. And now, upon Googling, I see that is for good reason.
posted by y2karl at 1:50 AM on September 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

Beautiful work!
posted by wellifyouinsist at 6:27 AM on September 28, 2023

They are gorgeous!
posted by Gadgetenvy at 6:31 AM on September 28, 2023

They are pretty paintings. That can be a good thing or a bad thing in the art world
posted by Czjewel at 7:25 AM on September 28, 2023

Probably the most interesting one is "Sweet Heart," which plays off a recognizable Renaissance pose and thus brings to mind that era's gilded paintings, only with a contemporary face that carries a different history. A lot of them aren't compositionally that interesting, but I can certainly see why a loving parent would want one of these of their child!
posted by praemunire at 8:43 AM on September 28, 2023

these are incredibly beautiful. to me, it seems, not only inspired by Klimt in style but also in the capturing of a tenderness and intimacy in both artist's works.
posted by supermedusa at 8:57 AM on September 28, 2023 [2 favorites]

Beauty.
posted by rrrrrrrrrt at 1:34 PM on September 28, 2023