Sissòn is a multi-disciplinary artist who weaves their African heritage with modern iconography to create work that feels both mythic and finely locked into contemporary culture. Born in Glendale, Arizona and now based between Los Angeles and New York, identity is at the core of Sissòn’s practice, a minimal but impactful exploration into what the artist believes feels like to be an alien in a place one calls home.
Housed at the newly minted FRANCHISE gallery in Los Angeles, Sissòn presents their eight solo exhibition, One Way Out. The suite of new paintings is arguably their “most personal” show to date, according to the artist via Instagram, in that, the paintings serve as snapshots into Sissòn’s formative experiences — “from gangbanging at age 15 to their return to painting as a loving means of escape from the violence they found themselves in,” wrote a statement by the gallery.
Contrasting the often violent nature of gang culture, Sissòn breathes optimism into his paintings by using a vibrant choice of colors and harking to 2Pac’s famous poem, “The Rose That Grew From Concrete”. Similar to the lyrics, Sissòn’s painting’s articulate through portraiture a message of adversity; that despite societal hinderances the way out is yours to define.
One Way Out is on view at FRANCHISE in LA until October 9.
Elsewhere, Phaidon and Annie Leibovitz partner on a new monograph.
FRANCHISE
977 Chung King Rd
Los Angeles, CA 90012
[flexi-common-toolbar] [flexi-form class=”flexi_form_style” title=”Submit to Flexi” name=”my_form” ajax=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”post_title” class=”fl-input” title=”Title” value=”” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”category” title=”Select category”][flexi-form-tag type=”tag” title=”Insert tag”][flexi-form-tag type=”article” class=”fl-textarea” title=”Description” ][flexi-form-tag type=”file” title=”Select file” required=”true”][flexi-form-tag type=”submit” name=”submit” value=”Submit Now”] [/flexi-form]
wazup.