2023
36 in x 36 in x 3 in
Acrylic, plaster, gold, bronze, matte medium on wood panel
In this recent body of work, Anthony departs from her portrait-based work and leans into abstraction. Inspired by the many conceptual layers that comprise the formation of identity, in this series Anthony works with overlapping mediums and elements. These layers convey the combined influence of history, ancestry, and inspiration from other artists on her practice, and provide a form of partial reveal that "protects and honors the previous lives and moments" that inform her work.
Banned, is inspired by the most recent update on Book Bans of 2022-2023, exploring Expanded Censorship of Themes Centered on Race, History, Sexual Orientation and Gender.
2022-23 has been marked to date by an escalation of book bans and censorship in classrooms and school libraries across the United States. PEN America recorded more book bans during the fall 2022 semester than in each of the prior two semesters. This school year also saw the effects of new state laws that censor ideas and materials in public schools, an extension of the book banning movement initiated in 2021 by local citizens and advocacy groups. Broad efforts to label certain books “harmful” and “explicit” are expanding the type of content suppressed in schools.
This series is an attempt at reflecting upon abstraction + cycles of thought provoked by outcome verses bearers of imposed or inflicted identity.
Through weeks of material processing, theories of fact or relative actions incorporating overlapping and intersectional ideologies form the surface of each painting.
• documentation photography by Wes Maygar
36” x 36” x 2.5”
Overwhelmingly, book banners continue to target stories by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals. In this six-month period, 30% of the unique titles banned are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color. Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes
36” x 37” x 3”
