Tschabalala Self

(American, born 1990)

Tschabalala Self is an contemporary American painter known for her works which are an integration of painting with other craft methods such as sewing and printing. Her work, which uses exaggerated colors and forms, attempts to subvert expectations and perceptions of the black female body. “I hope to correct misconceptions propagated within and projected upon the Black body,” Self has said about her work. “The fantasies and attitudes surrounding the Black female body are both accepted and rejected within my practice, and through this disorientation, new possibilities arise.” Self was born in 1990 in Harlem, New York. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Bard College in 2012 and her Master of Fine Arts from the Yale School of Art in 2015. Her current body of work explores the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexuality through the iconography of the Black female body. She uses sewn, printed, and painted materials to create abstract collage-like canvases depicting exaggerated figures, constructing multidimensional renditions of her subjects. Her art has been exhibited around the world, including places such as MoMA PS1 in New York, Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, Yuz Museum in Shanghai, and Pilar Corrias in London. She currently lives and works in New Haven, Connecticut.