Detroit Artist Mario Moore Talks Los Angeles Exhibit and Importance of Black Art

Hanging on the wall in my living room, beside a photo of my late grandmother, was a painting that would often leave me transfixed. The piece, which featured a Black man and woman in a loving embrace, felt familiar. Perhaps it was the record player propped upon a green patterned couch that mirrored the very one the painting hung over in our home or the man’s hat positioned in a way my father’s would be on any given warm day.

Maybe it was the way the colors — a vibrant red side table, the deep-blue carpet speckled with black spots — seemed to mimic the fabulous and funky party rooms of my Midwest relatives or how I’d seen aunts, uncles, and neighbors in the same exact pose as this couple throughout my life. Whatever the appeal, Jacob Lawrence’s Lovers resonated with something deep inside of me. Here was art living with me that reflected the lives of those around me.man Milner for Shondaland features The 34-year-old artist unpacks his career journey, the opening of his first solo exhibit, and the impact of Blackness on contemporary art……Read full feature by Iman Milner