Terron Cooper Sorrells

In what seems to be other worlds painted in vivid colors and intricate details, I invite my viewers into the neglected narratives of African American history, life, and culture. In my practice of painting and printmaking, I create largescale works that envelop viewers in stories of the everyday interwoven with allusions to the past. My work becomes a collective portrait of what it means to be African American today in a celebration of its rich, diverse, and beautiful nature.

Within each piece, I dissect the way we perceive African American culture today. In an investigation into race and the legacy of slavery, I use my work to challenge the day-to-day perceptions, the way our history is written, and how we chronicle art history in regard to the black experience. Through a confluence of mythological, religious, and iconic historical imagery I construct a new visual language that can be engaged as a tool to unearth the forgotten, overlooked, and blatantly ignored narratives of African Americans since before the birth of the nation. However, my final images, while raw and vulnerable, do not radiate with pain and trauma that has been intergenerationally embodied, but the strong and resilient spirit of our people.

My work simultaneously acknowledges the traumas of our past while unveiling the vibrancy of the culture that has formed in its wake. The dramatic and intense scenes I depict speak to instilling a new sense of empathy as viewers connect to the stories unfolding before them, an act that works to combat the ongoing whitewashing of histories. Each painting and print becomes a window into the overlooked facets of our society that exist alongside us.