Tschabalala Self in the Studio

Tschabalala Self b. 1990, United States Follow +

Tschabalala Self has, in recent years, become one of the most sought-after and talked about artists of her generation. She has captured the attention of viewers with her vivacious paintings that dedicate space to deconstructing and reforming powerful depictions of Black femininity.

On the opening of her solo show Home Body (6 October–17 December 2022) at Pilar Corrias, Self spoke with Ocula from her studio in New Haven, Connecticut, about the focus of her practice and her daily routine in the studio. With a commitment to figuration, she is delving further into an exploration of the body and its parallels with domestic space.

Since graduating from the Yale School of Art with an MFA in 2015, the Harlem-born artist has risen to fame with an array of stand out-solo exhibitions. From curating a theatre production for Performa in 2021 to designing a handbag for Louis Vuitton, it’s clear her creative form has range.

Self’s expansive practice traverses painting, sculpture, print, and installation to identify the ‘collective fantasies’ that are routinely projected upon the Black female body. Her use of mixed media and textiles permeates her practice and reflects the influence of her mother, who was a talented seamstress. The medium also expands the traditional parameters of painting, offering new scope for diverse references and critical inquiry.

For her 2020 exhibition Cotton Mouth at Galerie Eva Presenhuber, Self probed the complex and fraught history of cotton within the Black American experience. By infusing diverse references into her artwork, Self draws history into the present and comments on the narratives surrounding Black contemporary culture.

Her portrayal of the Black female figure presents an untraditional view that unpacks the gaze and its attitudes towards the racialised and gendered body. By reimagining archetypal feminine features, Self introduces expressive characters that embody powerful identities and represent a shift in Black rhetoric.

This is embodied in Self’s newest public artwork Seated, commissioned by Avant Arte. Gracing London’s Coal Drops Yard is the artist’s largest sculpture to date: a large, painted bronze statue of an elegant Black woman dressed head-to-toe in pale yellow, and seated upon an ornate turquoise chair.

Self’s exhibition across Pilar Corrias’ gallery spaces on Savile Row and Eastcastle Street in London will feature a range of large-scale paintings, works on paper, furniture, and sculpture. The show, Make Room, is a continuation of Self’s European debut at Le Consortium in Dijon, on view until 22 January 2023. —[O]

Main image: Tschabalala Self Studio. Courtesy Ocula. Photo: © Charles Roussel.