The Armory Show 2020

The Armory Show: Focus
curated by Jamillah James

March 5 - 8, 2020

solo booth: Pier 90, Booth F26
Kumasi J. Barnett
The Amazing Black-Man

Press:
Sports Illustrated
Art Viewer
Artnet News
FAD Magazine
Allesfresser

Lowell Ryan Projects is pleased to present a solo presentation by Baltimore-based artist Kumasi J. Barnett in the Focus section of The Armory Show 2020. Riffing on classic superhero series including; The Amazing Spider-Man, The Incredible Hulk, Superman, Daredevil, and Captain America, the presentation will feature 100 hand-painted comic book works pinned up in their clear plastic sleeves, and a large-scale neon and vinyl sign in the style of the comic book titles, called “The Amazing Black-Man.”

For each work, Barnett has painted over the cover of an old Marvel or DC comic book, replacing familiar heroes with characters including “The Amazing Black-Man,” “The Media’s Thug,” “Whitedevil,” and “Police-Man.” Barnett replaces Spider-Man’s full-body leotard with a hoodie and jeans, Superman’s logo with the stars and bars of the Confederate flag, and turns the supernatural villains into—a no less brutal nemesis––the police. Alteration here acts as an intervention. By addressing real-world issues through a superhuman genre, Barnett’s work dissolves the disconnect between contemporary American narratives and the reality of “justice,” making us reexamine cultural conceptions surrounding the Good versus Evil paradigm.

For more information please write: info@lowellryanprojects.com