Afi Ese
Afi Ese is an African American artist residing in Houston, Texas. She was raised in Waller County, Texas, with roots in Mali and Togo. Afi went to college in the 1990s and holds an M.S. in forensic psychology with a concentration in juvenile art therapy. She became a forensic psychotherapist for adolescent children for seven years. Afi started painting portraits to supplement income during graduate school. Her artwork is mainly contemporary realism and figurative narrative created with oils and pastels. Afi’s work holds true to representing the West African diasporic history and Black portraiture, with attention to generational trauma and triumph in rural Black America. Reimagining historical events, she puts emphasis on the resilience of her culture, and her work helps direct the honesty of positive Black images within daily life. Afi desires for the youth to feel culturally empowered after viewing her art of bold, raw images. She knows herself to be self-aware about the Black American experience, and her paintings are conceptualized narratives of African circumstances.
Diagnosed at the age of 16, Afi suffers from an advanced stage of rheumatoid arthritis. She is distinguished as a disabled artist who is wheelchair-dependent. Additionally, she has fused wrists and hand deformities. She wants to inspire others with disabilities that art can be a mental skill represented as a kind of relief. Afi’s art has recently been shown at the Museum of Science and Industry Black Creativity Exhibition in Chicago, IL, and she won the Juror’s Choice Award during the EXPO 2021 at 500X Gallery in Dallas, TX. More of her works have also been on display at the Citywide African American Art Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Art-Houston, the Art Exhibition and Sale of Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital in Malvern, and her art was featured on the cover of *Blk Voices Magazine* 2021 September issue. Afi’s work has been exhibited throughout the United States and South Africa. Her works are held in private collections in England, Trinidad, Canada, Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, and the United States.
“My work is a bricolage of my experiences as an aware Black American from a country upbringing that started a journey to find what had been denied to me and many of my relatives who came before me. I want my work to narrate my life, thoughts, and challenges. I hope when other Black people – especially our youth – look at my work, they feel understood and represented.”
Notes
References
- ↑ Ese, Afi. "bio & c.v. Short bio & curriculum vitae". Afi Ese Art Oil. Soft Pastel. Charcoal. 2023 Afi Ese Art, LLC. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ↑ Ese, Afi. "February 2021 Featured Artist". Sanctuary. 2022 Sanctuary Online, LLC. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
- ↑ Ese, Afi (April 2022). "Meet Afi Ese". Canvas Rebel. Stories & Insights. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
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