The Empowerment You Need This Week, Courtesy of Tschabalala Self

Tschabalala Self’s towering collages are meditations on blackness, beauty, and femininity — and they were already plenty striking when the Harlem-born, Connecticut-based artist opened her second solo show at Thierry Goldberg gallery earlier last month. Now, as the exhibit, “Gut Feelings,” comes to a close at the end of a devastating roller-coaster of a week in America, they pack even more of a punch. Stretching up to six feet tall, in positions as regal as they are sexual, the women of color in Self’s canvases exude comfort, confidence, and cool – a vote of confidence in ourselves that is even more vital now in America under Donald Trump.
Tschabalala Self, “Thigh,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Untitled,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Swim,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Butterfly,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Untitled,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Chop,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Untitled,” 2016.
Tschabalala Self, “Bellyphat,” 2016.