Amir Lyles has used the brick dust that falls off the cellar walls to give his paint texture. He has also used bits of his beard. His house and his family are essential parts of the identity that he pours into his paintings, many of them with themes of African identity–but also Rastafarianism, jazz, and hiphop to soul. This self-taught artist is finding original ways of keeping his artwork real, accessible and affordable, with marketing help from his life partner Naeemah Patterson. They are a team. Lyles is in a show opening June 18 at photographer Ken White’s gallery at Sharktown Studios.
This episode is edited by Peter Crimmins. The music is by Eric Biondo. Thanks to the Knight Foundation for helping us get the ball rolling on this project. Thanks to J-Lab‘s Enterprise Reporting Fund and William Penn Foundation for additional support and to our partner WHYY NewsWorks for their ongoing support. You can listen to Artblog Radio on Apple and Spotify.
Photographers R. Alexander Trejo and Nicole Fusco; and mixed media by Amir Lyles.
City Arts Salon at Sharktown (on Facebook)
155 Cecil B. Moore Ave. Studio 3D
opening reception June 18, 3-7 pm
hours Tues. 4:30-7:30 pm, Thurs.-Fri., 4:30-7 pm, and Sun., 3-6 pm
