Wright Auction

Using images pulled from the pages of vintage Ebony and Jet magazines, Lorna Simpson's collages explore the ideas of race, identity, history and culture, motifs that have always been central to her output. These works, which the artist began to create in the 2010s, depict monochromatic subjects who gaze out at the viewer with the familiarity of mass media advertising, displaying, with an air of detachment, the ideals of African American beauty during the mid 20th c. Atop their heads though, there appear plumes of coiffured hair, some in vibrant watercolor brushstrokes, others with applied images of gemstones, minerals or even galaxies, imbuing the previously impersonal with a newfound source of power, a show of his or her fantastic and individual beauty. Her mythical beings, tenderly brought to life, have been produced across multiple series and recently graced the cover of the January/February 2021 issue of Essence magazine, where the multifaceted icon, Rihanna, takes the place of Simpson’s bygone models to pose as the sitter.