Kip Omolade, a Brooklyn-based artist, started his career as a graffiti artist while doing an internship at Marvel Comics and at The Center for African Art. His chrome masks and hyperrealistic portraits are contrasted against vibrant backgrounds and they explore the things that make us human.
“In my paintings, I previously presented each mask as a singular portrait,” Omolade told This is Colossal. “In my current work, the faces are now interacting with each other. They are arranged together on large canvases measuring 13-15 feet long. The masks have become mythological characters having conversations about humanity. I see them as deities pondering age old questions about birth, life, death, identity and love.”
For the first time, he has included his children in his work. He says that their portraits represent the ability of life to survive despite all the hardships that are thrown at it. He portrays his boys with their eyes closet, innocent to the world that surrounds them.
Omolade’s art will be exhibited in a pop-up show in NYC on September 9, if you’d like to see it in person.
