Opening Reception of On The Shoulders Of Giants by Ya’qub Shabazz
Rochester Contemporary Art Center
137 East Ave.
Apr 1, 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

This First Friday, RoCo presents On The Shoulders Of Giants, a solo exhibition of digital paintings by Ya’qub Shabazz. The exhibition consists of a new series of portraits featuring figures that inspired the artist most during his formative years as an incarcerated young person. Visit us during the Opening Reception to meet the artist and view beautifully detailed portraits of figures including James Baldwin, Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and many more.

About the artist and exhibition:
Ya’qub Shabazz is a native Chicagoan, poet, U.S. Army Veteran, and formerly incarcerated artist. He is primarily a painter but as of April 2020 has come to love digital painting. When COVID-19 impacted our world, Mr. Shabazz started to experiment with this new medium, and set out on a mission to document (visually) historic figures that were most important to him. Each of the portraits represent how these people took the canvas of life and painted their own portraits. They each took the reins and made sacrifices, some of these sacrifices left them scarred and it is in those scars where we find the beauty that colors their lived experiences.

This exhibition continues through May 7. Read more about the exhibition and artist here.