UN·EXAMINED

The Jeanne Rauch Gallery, April 9 - June 24, 2021

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Norris’s UN·EXAMINED is an introspective look into the life of the artist. He aims to raise questions about race, gender, religion, and the politics of representation by portraying contemporary African American men and women using symbolic and figurative paintings. Here Norris draws on his memory, life events, and stories to examine the cultural narrative of the representation of African American men and women. 

Norris, the artist, has washed his large-scale and bold paintings with a depth of color with the intentionality and creativity of obscuring and fragmenting the figures into space, boldly bringing forth visions that refuse to be erased. The final image retains a combative but peaceful visual connection, yet capturing an allusion to a moment in time. There are traces of specific paintings of The Old Masters, replaced with contemporary images of black subjects, drawing attention to the absence of African Americans from historical and cultural narratives. 

The focus on the emotional atmosphere, energy, and space that his figures inhabit allows Norris to strip away the layers of himself to better understand his place in society. The brush strokes, scratches, and marks of the artist’s hand manage to erode its original source while simultaneously renewing and examining the psychology of representation. His paintings are a testament to our complex yet inescapable relationship with the past and present, but he hopes to provoke an emotional response out of the viewer to elicit change in the future.

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UN·EXAMINED - FULL COLLECTION OF WORK

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