JULIAN JOSEPH KYLE
WORKS
ABOUT
"In my work, I deconstruct the Afrikan-American experience by enlarging or shrinking historical photos that are a part of my Afrikan-American childhood, family and culture. My work has engaged subjects as diverse as American slavery, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, as well as the current political and social climate. I work within a mixed-media painting style using found wood or salvaged glass as my foundation for the work while combining various mediums and techniques that include: oil and water-based acrylic paints, spray paints, screen-printing, and glass etching. While I use a variety of materials and processes in each project, my methodology is consistent. The subject matter of each body of work determines the materials and how the work takes form. Each project consists of multiple works grouped around specific themes and meanings. During research and creation, new areas of interest arise and lead to my next body of work." - Julian Joseph Kyle
Julian Kyle is a Texas-born and Brooklyn-based artist. While Julian's work typically comes in the form of mixed-media painting on found wood, he also expresses his artistic abilities through screen-printing and glass etching. Julian attributes much of his influence to his alma mater, Texas Southern University. Here it was instilled in him that artists need to be making art that does more than, serve as gratuitous decorative art. Artists need to be telling something, they need to be saying something. The purpose of Julian's art is to take control of the narrative of Afrikan-American people, a narrative that has historically been controlled by people of European descent. By taking back control of the narrative, Julian is able to elevate his ancestors and Afrikan-American people by shining a light on their beauty, strength, impact, and perseverance. |