Modern Artists Who
Focus on Identity
*Identity is the qualities, beliefs, personality traits, appearance, and/or expressions that characterize a person or group. In sociology, emphasis is placed on collective identity, in which an individual's identity is strongly associated with role-behavior or the collection of group memberships that define them.
Jeff Sonhouse
Jeff Sonhouse is an African-American painter.
He was born in New York in 1968.
He has a BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) from the School of Visual Arts, New York.
His work deals with the black identity and experience. He uses oil paint and burnt matches.
You can learn
more about him
here.
Raulo, 2021
Oil paint and burnt match sticks on panel
25 2/5 × 18 1/10 × 2 1/5 in
Return to Sender, 2018
Oil paint and burnt match sticks on panel
98 3/4 × 62 in
Molly Crabapple
Molly Crabapple is an American artist and writer. She was born with the name Jennifer Caban in Queens, New York in 1983. Her mother is Jewish and her father is Puerto Rican. She describes herself as “snotty and goth” in middle school. She was expelled from the seventh grade. Smithsonian magazine says: “She makes us look at what we don’t want to see—searing vistas devastated by war, cities in ruins, people in agony. This is what the female version of the gonzo spirit looks like today. Less self-absorbed, more empathetic. But still fueled by outrage.”
“Portraits of myself and Lola Montes with things said about us by our contemporaries”, 2014
Marcos Raya
Marcos Raya is a Mexican artist who was born in 1948. He moved to Chicago when he was 16 with his family. He strongly connects to his Mexican heritage and makes works with a strong political viewpoint.
He has a history of alcoholism --he credits friends and members of his community who helped him become and stay sober.
“Thru the Eyes of Van Gogh,” 2010
Oil on canvas
36 × 58 in
“Dog Years”
oil on canvas
17 x 17 inches
“Skull #1”
mixed media
15 x 11.5 x 11.5 inches
Michael Reeder
Michael Reeder is an American artist who was born in Dallas, Texas in 1982.
He has a BFA from School of the Visual Arts in New York. He currently lives and works in Los Angeles, California. He is influenced by the skater/outsider culture and makes large-scale murals and smaller works with eye-popping colors.
“Space Bandit”, 2018
Acrylic on panel
11.5" × 14.5"
“False Guru”, 2018
Concrete, potassium silicate, MDF, acrylic, latex and spray paint
11" × 14"