#luce gallery

first posted in facebook september 10, 2020

grace lynne haynes -- "sunday mourning" (2019)

"i’m especially fascinated by the idea of dark and light existing in one image. when i was an undergraduate, i couldn’t find information on how to paint darker-brown skin tones, so i began painting my characters in a deep black. since then, the color black has been the focus of my paintings. i want to challenge the notion that black represents evil and showcase how darkness can be positive and pure" ... grace lynne haynes

"the black women in haynes’ works are painted in deep blacks, and juxtaposed against soft pastel colours indicative of the delicateness of femininity, a trait not typically associated with black womanhood. haynes successfully creates a network of images that address complex stereotypes and topics, and, at the same time, represents black women as aspirational, dignified, and sublime" ... luce gallery

"an artist’s duty, as far as i'm concerned, is to reflect the times" ... nina simone

"i firmly stand by this statement, and live by it in my work. my role as a visual artist and a black woman is to reflect on the current state of womanhood and create paintings that represent what women in my generation are feeling and going through" ... grace lynne haynes (remarking on the quote by nina simone)