Culture Black Fine Art Expo 2023 Program

MEET THE ARTISTS
LASHUN BEAL, CONTEMPORARY, FIGURATIVE ARTIST, BORN JANUARY 28, 1962, HAS
DEDICATED HIS CAREER TO PERFECTING HIS ART. HE IS A NATIVE OF DETROIT WHO
NOW RESIDES IN THE HOUSTON AREA. HE CHALLENGES AND EXPRESSES HIMSELF
THROUGH MANY MEDIUMS. THE GROUND SURFACES AND CANVASES THAT HE USES
HAVE THEIR OWN DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER AND MATCHLESS CAPACITY WHICH GIVES
VOICE TO HIS WORK AND COMPLEMENTS HIS UNIQUE STYLE. AFTER MASTERING THE
TECHNICAL SUBTLETIES OF DIFFERENT MEDIUMS AND SUBJECT MATTERS, BEAL IS
CONTENT WITH THE SPIRIT THAT DRIVES HIM TO CREATE A PARTICULAR WORK OF
ART; AND, THE EVOLUTION OF HIS PROGRESS WHICH IS EXEMPLIFIED IN HIS
CREATIONS. HE HAS DONE EXTENSIVE TRAVELING THROUGHOUT EUROPE, SOUTH
AMERICA AND THE FAR EAST WHICH HAS AFFORDED HIM THE OPPORTUNITY TO
WITNESS OTHER CULTURES WHICH IS REFLECTED IN HIS ART.
LaShun Beal
FATHER OF FLYING CALABASHES
Talle Bamazi
TALLE BAMAZI, HAILING FROM KARA, TOGO, WEST AFRICA, IS AN ARTIST WHOSE
CANVAS SERVES AS A PLATFORM FOR ACTIVISM. DESPITE STARTING AS A SELF-
TAUGHT ARTIST, HIS ARTISTIC JOURNEY BEGAN AT A YOUNG AGE. WHILE
INITIALLY STUDYING CONSTRUCTION BUILDING MANAGEMENT TO BECOME A SITE
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER IN LOMÉ, HIS TRUE GIFT WAS IN VISUAL ART.
BAMAZI ARRIVED IN NEW YORK IN 1995, KNOWING NO ENGLISH, EMBARKING ON A
CHALLENGING ADVENTURE. HE IMMERSED HIMSELF IN AMERICAN CULTURE AT THE
NEW YORK STUDENT ART LEAGUE, MARKING THE BEGINNING OF HIS
CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART IN THE U.S. HE FURTHERED HIS
EDUCATION AT THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF ART, EARNING A MASTER'S DEGREE.
AFTERWARD, AMID THE VIBRANT NEW YORK ART SCENE, BAMAZI EXHIBITED IN
NUMEROUS GALLERIES AND INSTITUTIONS. HIS PASSION SHIFTED TOWARDS
ELEVATING THE VISIBILITY OF AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN ARTISTS. IN
2003, HE REALIZED THIS VISION BY FOUNDING THE KIACA (KABIYE IMPACT
CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN ART) GALLERY IN COLUMBUS, OHIO. KIACA EDUCATED
PATRONS ABOUT AFRICA'S ENDURING CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS AND SUPPORTED
YOUNG ARTISTS OF COLOR.
KNOWN AS THE "FATHER OF FLYING CALABASHES," TALLE BAMAZI'S STUDIO AT 700
BRYDEN ROAD IN COLUMBUS, OHIO, HAS PRODUCED POWERFUL WORKS FEATURED
WORLDWIDE, INCLUDING AT THE 2022 DAKAR BIENNALE AND THE 9TH BEIJING
INTERNATIONAL ART BIENNALE. HE AIMS TO REDEFINE CONTEMPORARY AFRICAN
ART'S PLACE IN THE GLOBAL ART LANDSCAPE.