Shawn Theodore — g a macura inc.

Theodore's striking portraiture merges real and hypothesized or mythological black experiences, often set within environments under threat of disappearance. His series "These Subtle Declarations" encapsulates the contradictions and nuances involved with constructing representations of blackness.

All works courtesy of the artist and Steven Kasher Gallery.

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Finding You When I'm Not LookinG

2018
Archival pigment print
24 x 18 in. (frame)
Ed. of 15

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All I Ever Wanted Was A Reason To Be

2018
Archival pigment print
24 x 18 in. (frame)
Ed. of 15

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TOTEM

2018
Archival pigment print
24 x 18 in. (frame)
Ed. of 15

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Artist website

Back to the Exhibition page

Steven Kasher Gallery Website

Other works available from g a macura inc.

From the artist:

"My goals as an artist, a photographer, shifts depending on the project I’m working on. Preservation, is a dynamic tool to activate memories, not just to ‘store’ them, so to speak. I like to place objects in ways that the viewer would have to render themselves free from an understanding of chronological order, I work to make people see reality in new ways. . . . The work I do, any of my projects, the meaning behind it all is meant to challenge the understanding of black reality."

- Interview for 2 Black Grits, June 2017

CV

b. 1970, Stuttgart
Currently based in Philadelphia, PA

Education

2000 Temple University, BA in Journalism, Public Relations and Advertising

Awards

2018 The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship, Nominee

2018 Magnum Foundation Fund: Nominee

2016 The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage Fellowship: Nominee

Residencies

2017-18 SPACES - Artist in Residence Village of Arts and Humanities Project: "Home Court"

Solo Exhibitions

2017 'Church of Broken Pieces' | Richard Beavers Gallery, NYC | Curator, Richard Beavers

2017 'Future Antebellum' | Art Sanctuary, Philadelphia, PA | Curators, James Claiborne and Noah Smalls

2017 'Ctrl+P' | Catherine Edelman Gallery, Chicago 'Church of Broken Pieces' | African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA | Curator, Brittany Webb

2016 ‘Shawn Theodore, xST' | Breakfast, Santa Barbara, CA

2015 ‘The Avenues’, Painted Bride Art Center | Philadelphia, PA

2014 ‘Storyville Presents: The A / V / E : The Audio Visual Experiment’ | Scribe Video Center'

2014 ‘The Avenues, Uptown & GTown’ | Imperfect Gallery, Philadelphia, PA

Murals & Outdoors

2017 ‘Aizen’ mural at 990 Spring Garden, in conjunction with the Mural Arts Program, Philadelphia, PA

2017 Revolutionary: A Pop-Up Street Art Exhibition | Curator, Conrad Benner

Group Exhibitions

2018 Refraction: New Photography of Africa and Its Diaspora, Steven Kasher Gallery, Chelsea, NYC | Curators, Cassandra Johnson and Niama Sandy

2018 Legacy of the Cool: A Tribute to Barkley L. Hendricks | The Bakalar & Paine Galleries at MassArt, Boston, MA | Curator, Darci Hanna

2018 Shabazz / Theodore: The Photography of Jamel Shabazz and Shawn Theodore | SNAP! Space, Orlando, FL | Curators, Patrick and Holly Khan

2017 PRIZM Art Fair | Art Basel week, Miami, FL

2017 'InVision Photo Festival' | Bethlehem, PA

2017 'We Are Stronger Together' | Rush Arts Philadelphia, in partnership with The Barnes Foundation and Art Sanctuary | Curator, Oshun D. Layne

2017 ‘Other Articulations of the Real’ | The Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, Annandale-On-Hudson, NY

2016 PRIZM Art Fair | Art Basel week, Miami, FL

2016 'OFF WHITE’ | MoCADA Museum, Brooklyn NYC | Curator, Akintola Hanif

2015 'PPAC 6th Annual Contemporary Photography Competition & Exhibition' | Philadelphia, PA

Performance

2017 Participant/Actor in 'Duchamp in the Congo (Suburban Invasion)' 1999/2017 | Sanford Biggers, Xaviera Simmons and Michael Stablein | The Barnes Foundation ‘Person of the Crowd: The Contemporary Art of Flânerie’

Curatorial

2018 Let’s Connect: Philly’s Artists Take on the Barnes

2018 Lyric - Creative Suites for the Modern Traveler (Philadelphia, Minnesota, Dallas)

2017 ‘Fevered Dreams, Fractured Times’, Mark Jason Weston at Imperfect Gallery

Artist Talks, Panels, and Lectures

2018 REFRACTION: NEW PHOTOGRAPHY OF THE AFRICAN DIASPORA at AIPAD Niama Safia Sandy, Curator, and Artists Nona Faustine, Adama Delphine Fawundu, and Shawn Theodore A discussion of the upcoming exhibition Refraction: New Photography of Africa and its Diaspora on view at Steven Kasher Gallery from April 19 through June 2, 2018, which looks at reframing blackness through visual art and challenging existing representations of black life.

2018 PhotoNative 2018, Provo, UT | Street Portraiture: Best Practices & Methods

2018 Creative Photography Mentor | Village Arts | Philadelphia

2017 Art Sanctuary, closing reception artist talk with host/moderator Sharon Chestnut | Philadelphia, PA

2017 Art Sanctuary, artist talk with PaFA Low-Res students | Philadelphia, PA

2017 National Constitution Center 'Revolutionary: Artist Panel’ A conversation with four of the Revolutionary artists – Shawn Theodore, Michelle Angela Ortiz, Lisa Kelley, and Yasmine Mustafa | Philadelphia, PA

2017 African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA' Films at AAMP: ‘A Moving Image’ Screening & Artists’ Talk. Activist, scholar and artist Nehad Khader will moderate a discussion and audience Q&A between director Shola Amoo and photographer, Shawn Theodore.

2017 African American Museum in Philadelphia, PA' Films at AAMP: ‘Black Girl + Merkato' A conversation between filmmaker Sosena Solomon and photographer Shawn Theodore.

2017 Philadelphia Weekly: Picture power: Photography and women’s empowerment collide with Oh, Snap! at the PPAC

2016 First Person Arts Festival, National Museum of American Jewish History - Panelist, ‘My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me' | Philadelphia, PA

2016 First Person Arts Festival, WHYY Studios, Philadelphia, PA Panelist ’A Letter to My Father / A Letter to My Son' City of Philadelphia’s Department of Behavioral Health and Intellectual disAbility Services and First Person Arts | Philadelphia, PA

2016 Virginia Commonwealth University - Guest Lecturer ‘The Black Artist In Perspective’ interview with with African American Studies instructor Chioke I’Anson, PhD | Richmond, VA

2016 Temple University, Aperture Agency - Guest Lecturer | Philadelphia, PA

Commercial

2017 Apple, Instagram Launch Campaign: Instyle, Yahoo Finance, TIME

2016 Apple, QWERTY Campaign. Officially premiered during ‘Apple Special Event, October 2016’

Features Articles

2018 Musée Magazine: A Photographic Re-imaging of Black Past and Black Future with Shawn Theodore

2018 New York Times: Black With (Some) White Privilege

2018 PDN 'Photo of the Day' 2/8 ”Dubhe” from Future Antebellum series. 2017 © Shawn Theodore

2018 PDN 'Photo of the Day' 2/8 On the Streets with Jamel Shabazz and Shawn Theodore

2017 OkayAfrica: This Photo Series Is a Portal to New Dimensions of Black Life

2017 Blavity: 'Philadelphia Artist Shawn Theodore Conveys The Essence Of Black Excellence In His Latest Exhibit'

2017 6ABC: '6ABC Loves the arts: AAMP 40th anniversary celebration'

2017 CBS3: African-American Museum Of Philadelphia Celebrates 40 Years

2017 Fox29 Local Good Day: photog’s 1st museum show after inspiring Moonlight’s cinematographer