Test the Water

Clarence Heyward (b. 1983, Brooklyn, New York) is a painter whose work explores the Black American experience. He addresses cultural truths and stereotypes through his art. By “painting his truth,” Heyward pays homage to his culture, often using members of his own family as his models.

Heyward frequently employs a chroma key green skin tone in his paintings, reminiscent of a green screen in video production. This unique choice allows various backgrounds or realities to be superimposed onto the subjects, evoking a sense of possibility within identity and highlighting that our perception is shaped by who we are as observers.

Heyward’s newest series of paintings premiering at Art Miami this year is based on the Civil Rights Swim In that immediately preceded the passing of the Civil Rights Act. The 1964 Swim In included black and white protesters jumping into the whites-only pool at a hotel in St. Augustine, FL. The owner of the hotel poured acid into the pool to try to drive them away. Heyward includes the pH scale in these paintings, alluding to the measurement of danger in society.

PRESS
Unseen Review – MEER

EXHIBITION CATALOG
Clarence Heyward: Unseen