Devin Troy Strother


escapeintolife:devintroystorther1 Please Don’t Tear Down The Dancehall, 2009, gouache, acrylic, cel vinyl and silkscreen on cut paper, 23 x 29.75 inches

escapeintolifeDevinTroyStrother2 All The Way Back like in 1995, 2010, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkscreen, collage on panel, 54 x 68 inches

escapeintolifeDevinTroyStrother3 Please Mr DJ, 2010, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkscreen, collage on paper, 20 x 34 inches

escapeintolife_Devin TroyStother4The Block Is Hot, 2009, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkcreen, collage on paper, 48 x 31 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother_5

Big Hustle, Little Hustle, 2010, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, silkscreen, collage on panel, 30 x 40 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother6 Colors, 2009, gouache, acrylic, cel vinyl, enamel, ink and silkscreen on paper, 27 x 38.5 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother7 Boom For Real, 2010, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkscreen, collage on paper, 21.75 x 37 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother8Wilda Inna ’89, 2009, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkcreen, collage on paper, 10.25  x 17.5 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother9

The Get Down on Your Knees and Tell Me You Love Me Love Me, 2010, media as before, 12 x 17 inches

escapeintolife_DevinTroyStrother10 It’s Us Versus Them, 2010, enamel, acrylic, gouache, ink, graphite, silkscreen, collage on paper, 26 x 35 inches


Artist Statement

The titles come before the work is made. I have a book that I keep of funny shit I hear or comments that I hear that are kind of interesting. It starts with a phrase or a title, and I try to generate an image that relates to the whole narrative, this world that I’m trying to make. The titles come from things I hear in rap songs or things I hear family members say, things friends say.


Devin Troy Strother’s Website

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One response to “Devin Troy Strother”

  1. Sand Lazzar says:

    Am fascinated at the way in which images correspond to the
    climate of our times.

    It is true that an image can convey many things and often
    portrays the same things

    about the image-maker or where they come from.

     

    Devin Troy Strothers work makes a statement about parties,
    concerts, fantasies and other spectacles within an urban setting. What is
    interesting here is that Strothers work seems driven, at this point, by a
    “market audience.” His interest in fantasy with Black bodies is not
    new nor is it rare. Contemporary Artist Tom Sanford likewise fetishises and
    incorporates Black bodies into his fantasy paintings. His depictions of Black
    celebrities or people in general denote the gross vilification of the Black
    body for the sake of entertainment and commercial profit. Otherwise Rob Pruitt
    and Jack Early would not have collaborated in 1992 or Jason Rhoads would not
    have made his “Black Pussy” piece and titled a show after it. Also,
    Johnny Weissmuller would not have made 12 Tarzan films and 13 Jungle Jim films
    if there weren’t a profit in depicting Black people as raging savages.

     

    Devon Troy Strothers understands this particular history and
    the psychological effect on American culture and society. He may not be aware
    of the trauma passed on directly to him from all sides but he like Tom Sanford,
    Johnny Weissmuller, Jason Rhoads, Kalup Lindsay and Flip Wilson understands
    that there is an American fascination with stereotyping Black people. The
    unfortunate side, though there are many, is that it is seen as entertainment by
    many but at a very high cost. Strothers may be providing a service to his
    audience and it may profit him but he’s also destroying hundreds of years of
    struggle to change those stereotypes.

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