AsherMainsArt

I grew up in the Caribbean on the island of Grenada. It was in Grenada that my palette was calibrated and my philosophical foundations were constructed. I began to think about race, ethnicity, culture, and identity at an early age. These thoughts led to paintings of people and addressing the topic of race by painting all my figures in unnatural tones of red, yellow and purple. I wanted to communicate humanity as if we all belonged to the same race of vibrant colors. I received my Bachelor’s from Calvin College in intercultural studies. Studying culture gave me a vision for the complexities of the issues I had wrestled with in my art. With the historical rhetoric of oppression in the Caribbean, my experiences growing up as a minority in Grenada, and the academic backing of a degree in intercultural studies, I coalesce these concepts into paint on canvas. I strive to use paint to its full potential; exploring and utilizing different methods to convey my specific message. Recently, my work has moved away from the ‘unity in race’ motif to a ‘unity in impermanence’ motif. I love the tension between the figure as a physical, beautiful, product of history and the fleeting and impermanent nature of the flesh. The complexity of the concepts require a mature approach artistically as well as academically. My goal is to cause people to be introspective and be empowered by a new paradigm of their reality.