Saint Barnabas

Departing from the canon of religious representation, Brooklyn-based artist Genesis Tramaine's subjects are not familiar or the typical icons from Old Master paintings, but rather, Black and queer figures who have been historically excluded from the biblical narrative. These portraits distinguish themselves by their aesthetic language, which echoes 1980s Neo-Expressionist painting through abstract arrays of bold colors and intrepid gestures. Tramaine depicts these figures as seemingly in motion with exaggerated features, through which, her subjects convey activated spirit and act as a conduit between the ethereal world and the painting’s physical presence.

“In painting, I think that we often try to capture the attention of those who are staring at us. I also want to capture the story behind those eyes. I want to include the entire narrative in the gospel.”
—Genesis Tramaine