Afi Ese
(pronounced ah-fee eh-say)
Afi Ese is a narrative portrait painter living in Houston, Texas. She holds a master of science in forensic psychology with a concentration in art therapy. Most of Ese’s work is inspired by the cultural heritage and achievements of Black artists and thinkers from Renaissance and Southern Antebellum eras. I draw upon themes, styles, and motifs that were prevalent during the Black Renaissance, seeking to highlight the experiences and contributions of Black individuals in those societies. I am fascinated by southern heritage, Renaissance-era portrait construction, Moorish art, 14th-16th century European history, and how all of these things interplay with race and class– especially in Black America. As an avid reader of Black history, much of what I paint is a direct reflection on what I am studying at the time. My motifs include ruffle and tutor collars that symbolized status and wealth, sankofa eggs that symbolize dreams and wishes of our ancestors, natural black hair, African birds that represent the ancestors, and contemporary elements like gold teeth, nose rings, and other status symbols.
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GROUP EXHIBITIONS.
2024 EMERGE: Prelude to a New Season. Akwaaba Gallery, Newark, NJ
2024 Deve Amare David (Must love David), Monterroso Gallery, Houston, TX
2024 Hampton’s Fine Art Fair, Southampton, NY
2024 Women Who Dare. The Houston Public Library - Central Library, Houston, TX
2023 Texas Heat. Women's Caucus for Art/Brazoport Center for the Arts & Sciences, Clute, TX
2023 Citywide African American Art Exhibition. The Houston Public Library - Central Library + The African American Library at the Gregory School, Houston, TX
2022-23 Citywide African American Art Exhibition. Glassell School of Art at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
2022-23 Art Ability Exhibition and Sale. Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, Malvern, PA
2022 Texas Now Online Showcase 2022. Artspace111, Fort Worth, TX. Virtual
2022 Citywide African American Art Exhibition. Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, TX
2022 What's Next. Cat Eye Creative, Atlanta, GA
2022 This Is America 2022. 5 Points Art Gallery + Studio, Milwaukee, WI
2022 The Work of Women. Woman’s Caucus for Art Texas/Frost Brown Todd Law Firm, Houston, TX
2022 Citywide African American Art Exhibition. Texas Southern University, Houston, TX
2022 Culture: Our New Norm. Prairie View A&M University-NW, Houston, TX
2022 Black Creativity Juried Exhibition. Museum of Science & Industry, Chicago, IL
2021-22 Art Ability Exhibition and Sale. Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, Malvern, PA
2021 EXPO 2021. 500X Gallery, Dallas, TX
2021 Nativo. Hardy and Nance Studios, Houston, TX
2021 Familiar Strangers: A “self-portrait” showcase. Vacant Museum. Virtual
2021 When Words Fall. Visionary Art Collective. Virtual.2021 100th Day Show. Cat Eye Creative, Atlanta, GA
2021 How We See. Pencil on Paper Gallery, Farmers Branch, TX
2021 Black History Month Exhibition & Sale. Irving Black Arts Council, Irving, TX
2020-21 26th Carroll Harris Simms National Black Art Competition & Exhibition. African American Museum of Dallas, Dallas, TX
2021 Shelter – Artwork Created During the Great Lock-down of 2020, Burke Arts Council, Morganton, NC
2020 Art Beat Miami, 7TH Annual Virtual Art Fair Art Basel/Miami Art Week, Miami, FL
2020 We the People, Artfront Galleries, Newark, NJ
2020 See My Color: A Social Justice Call for Art, The Women’s Caucus for Art of Greater Washington, DC. Virtual
2020 We Protest, Mosely Gallery, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Princess Anne, MD. Virtual
2020 Enshrine Corvallis, Arts Center of Corvallis, Corvallis, OR. Virtual
2020-21 Art Ability Exhibition and Sale, Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital, Malvern, PA
2020 African American Artists Exhibition. University of Houston-Clear Lake Art Gallery, Clear Lake, TX
2019 ArtLit, Humphreys Gallery, Kimberly, South Africa
SOLO EXHIBITIONS.
2024 August 19 - September 28. Interconnected: The African Influence of Urban Adornment, Side Gallery, The Jung Center, Houston, TX
2023 August 18 - September 16. If We Had Wings, Gallery Guichard, Bronzeville, Chicago, IL. 12/21 works sold opening night
2023 February 4- April 8. Flights from Antiquity, Bert long Gallery, Museum of African American Culture, Houston, TX
2017 Revolution or Exodus, Yoga House Houston, Houston, TX
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
2024 September. Women's Caucus for Art. Featured Artist Spread.
2024 August. Brown Girls and Mental Health Magazine. Featured Artist Spread.
2023 October. Suboart Magazine. Featured Artist Spread.
2023 January. RAW: Race & Disability Anthology. Artwork.
2023 January. RAW: Race & Disability Anthology. Artwork.
2022 September. Finding Paradise: A Black Mental Health Anthology. Artwork and poetry.
2022 April. CanvasRebel Magazine. Interview.
2022 February. Black Minds Magazine. Artwork.
2021 September. Black Minds Magazine. Artwork.
2021 September. Blk Voices Magazine, Cover.
2021 August. Root Work Journal. Artwork.
2021 March. Art and Seek. Artwork.
2021 February. Sanctuary Magazine. Interview.
2020 September. Critical Bounds Podcast. Interview.
2020 September. ShoutOut HTX Magazine. Interview.
2020 August. Caribbean Radio Show. Interview.
2020 March. Brown Girls and Mental Health Magazine. Artwork and poetry.
2020 January. Black Art in America Newsletter.
2019. February. NWI Times.
2019. January. NWI Times.
2018 October. NWI Times.
2018 February. Voyage Houston Magazine.
COLLECTIONS.
The Mansion at Strathmore, Rockville, MD
David and Linda Whitaker, Detroit, MI
BET (Black Entertainment Television), Detroit, MI
The Ironman Sports Medicine Institute, Houston, TX
The Shrine of the Black Madonna, Houston, TX
Private collection, The Nation of Islam, Chicago, IL
Muhammad Mosque #1, The Nation of Islam, Chicago, IL
Private collection, Dick Gregory, Plymouth, MA
Works held in private collections in England, Trinidad, Canada, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, and the United States.
RESIDENCIES. MEMBERSHIPS. ASSIGNMENTS. APPOINTMENTS.
2023-2024 NAACP Artist Residency – Ohio
2021-current Women's Caucus for Art – Texas Chapter, Treasurer & Membership Chair
2021 Texas Female Artists
2021 Distance Learning: D.C. Teacher Art Show. Curatorial Assistant, website designer, graphic artist. Curated by Zsudayka Nzinga Terrell. Washington, D.C.
2020 Women's Caucus for Art, 06723
AWARDS. GRANTS. HONORS. PRIZES.
2024 Judge's Choice. The Doris B. Gordon Award, 2023-24 ArtAbility Exhibition and Sale
2024 Finalist, Jerry's Arta A Artarama Self-portrait Competition
2022 1st Prize Drawing and Fine Printmaking. The Stephen Panacsi Memorial Award, 2021-22 Art Ability Exhibition and Sale.
2022 Honorable Mention, Citywide African American Art Exhibition.
2021 Rauschenberg Grant, Cycle 9, New York Foundation for the Arts.
2021 Juror’s Choice Award, EXPO 2021.