Voices of the Diaspora: The Artisans Behind the Canvas

Chakaia Booker (1953- ) is an American sculptor who creates abstract works for both the gallery and outdoor public spaces. She is known for her abstract tire sculptures. Her practice of using found materials speaks to her environmental interests as a discard, toxic material becomes an object of interest. Her prints suggest an organic form despite their nonrepresentational nature.  Booker received a BA in sociology from Rutgers University in 1976 and an MFA from the City College of New York in 1993. 

Chloë Bass (1984- ) is an American conceptual artist working across performance, situation, conversation, publication, and installation. Taking inspiration from the occurrences within daily life, Bass is known for her research into the scales of intimacy in the illusive normality of existence. Bass starts with the mundane, the things we always do as a starting place, questioning its stability. What exists in the space between the familiar and unfamiliar and how we relate is an ongoing question for Bass.  Bass received her BA from Yale University in 2006 and her MFA from Brooklyn College in 2011.  ⁠

Claudette Johnson MBE RA (1959- ) is a British artist whose primary medium is drawing. Johnson's large-scale works depict the vulnerability and candidness of her subjects. Additionally, she is a founding member of the Black British Arts Movement.  Johnson studied Fine Art at Wolverhampton Polytechnic.

Clifford Owens (1971- ) is an American photographer, mixed media, performance artist, writer, and curator. He is best known for his spontaneous works centered around the body and includes interactions with the audience. He challenges the conventional making of art through his physically demanding performances. In these performances, he examines African-American history. Owens attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) then transferred to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, from which he graduated with a BFA in 1998. He received his MFA in 2000 from the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. 

Clotilde Jiménez (1990- ) is a multi-disciplinary American artist who works across ceramics, collage, painting, printmaking, and sculpture. His work interrogates race and sexuality, specifically Black queer masculinity. Jiménez's work is a melding of private and public musings referencing historical and contemporary influences.  Jiménez received his BFA in printmaking from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 2013 and his MFA from The Slade School of Fine Art in 2018. 

Conrad Egyir (1989- ) is a Ghanaian-born, Michigan-based painter. His large-scale surreal works combine West African folklore and domestic scenes. Within this framework he explores themes of triumph, identity, and the collective human spirit. Egyir also uses elements of stamps and passports to trace migration histories.  Egyir received his MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan in 2018 and a BFA from Judson University, Elgin, Illinois in 2015. 

Corinne Smith (1989- ) is an American multidisciplinary artist working in painting and illustration. Smith is inspired by dreams, plant medicine, and color to explore a deeper relationship to self and spiritual realms. They work to connect with ancestors and decolonize ways of knowing. Ultimately, their work centers joy while navigating grief and loneliness.  Smith received a Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Michigan. 

Cristiano Mangovo (1982- ) is an Angolan artist. Employing the use of mediums including painting, installation, performance, and more, his work is surreal and expressionistic. Swirling limbs and clothing are reconfigured into new forms. Many of his pieces consider the relationship between humans, plants, and animals. Driven by social and political realities, he critiques corrupt systems.  A recurring motif in his work is double mouths, one restricted by fear and one speaking freely.  Mangovo graduated from the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa. 

Crystal Z Campbell (1980- ) is an American sculptor, printmaker, and experimental filmmaker of  Black, Filipinx, and Chinese descent. Campbell's work excavates lesser-known histories and "underloved" stories. They work through and within and the archives omissions, finding complex­ity in public secrets. 

David Emmanuel Noel (1972- ) is a British painter, illustrator, and designer—much of his work centers on family, relationships, society, and environmental issues. His paintings often feature swirls of vibrant colors highlighting his expressive brushstrokes.