ARTIST STATEMENT
The act of colonization is to settle among and establish control of a people or an area; to take or make use of something without authority or right. “The most disrespected person in America is the Black woman. The most unprotected person in America is the Black woman. The most neglected person in America is the Black woman.” -Malcolm X As a Black woman, I have experienced and witnessed the disregard that is the water that we swim in daily. In even in the most elite circles where our excellence is clearly exhibited, we are disrespected, de-humanized and discounted. The brutality visited on Black women is accepted in our culture. Our trauma is generational, wide and deep. Our salvation and strength comes from healing the past in order to create futures that do not constrict. In “Epiphany”, we see a beautiful, pensive woman, deep in reflection. In her musings are the seeds of her liberation from conversations that would kill her spirit. We can feel her.
In “Jumping at the Sun”, we see a sister full of light, breaking free, running toward her life. It’s my hope that the two pieces create healing energy for the journey ahead. “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare.”
-Audre Lorde Cheryl Boone
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I have been making art since I was able hold a crayon. I have a BFA (graphic design) from the University of Illinois, Urbana and an MEd from the same. Art Ed Teaching Certificate, School of the Art Institute of Chicago. I majored in graphic design, as I aspired to support myself with my art. That didn’t go well and after many fits and starts and trying to walk away from art altogether, I became an public art teacher so that I could make art a part of my every day life. Because I have always been steeped in social justice issues and personal transformation as a way of life, that always formed the context for my teaching and my personal work. I have not been consistent and intentional about showing and selling my work until the past couple of years. I have exhibited in the following: 2022 International Juried Art Competition – Art Show International Gallery
Melanated in America Mega Art Gallery – Venice, Italy 2022
Delta SigmaTheta Arts & Letters Show – 2024
Logo St. Mark UMC, Chicago, Il.
Lenz Gallery Chicago Artists’ Coalition Savannah College of Art and Design – 2 Sapphire & Crystals Friendship Show -SouthSide Community Art Center
Black Creativity exhibits (5), Museum of Science & Industry, South Shore Cultural Center
Scholl College of Podiatry
Hyde Park Viaduct Project Christmas Cheer’ an illustrated collection of African American greeting cards I am currently a Lecturer at SAIC.
© Cheryl Boone