JULIAN JOSEPH KYLE
ARTWORTH
In Artworth, Julian Joseph Kyle presents a powerful body of work that challenges, enlightens, reframes and celebrates — offering a visual archive of Black cultural memory that is as tender as it is unwavering. With a sharp eye toward the historical impacts of Black entertainers, Kyle reframes iconic figures and buried narratives alike, asking: What is deemed worthy of being seen, remembered, or embraced — and why?
Tying this provocation to his experiences within the art world, he poses the same question himself and to the industry —who gets to ascribe value to art and how can currency be reframed to push against industry gatekeeping?
The exhibition features large-scale, mixed-media portraits that are not mere tributes, but interrogations — deconstructions of legacy, refracted through the lens of contemporary Black consciousness. The work does not smooth over contradictions; it invites them to sit beside one another in full view. In Julian’s hands, celebrity becomes cipher — a means of examining race, respectability, rebellion, and transcendence in the American imagination.
Each piece carries both the weight of history and the intimacy of craft.
Idols of our Fathers
3x2.5 feet
Acrylic with engraving on salvaged wood
2024
O.J. is complicated. He actively rejected Blackness as identity—he said, ‘I’m not Black, I’m O.J.’ That decision to try to transcend race—on the surface—was actually a submission to the white gaze. It’s haunting, especially when you look at how his story unfolded.
Sidney Poitier
4x4 feet
Mixed media on salvaged wood
2022
Sidney Poitier was ‘the respectable Negro’—polished, composed, non-threatening. A trailblazer, yes—but also a figure white audiences could feel ‘comfortable’ with. He knew that, and he played the part—but there’s a quiet defiance in the way he held that space. He was subversive by simply being excellent.
Nikki Giovanni
4x4 feet
Mixed media
2022
Now Nikki Giovanni? She said ‘Nah.’ She came out the gate unapologetic. She never let the media, the academy, or the publishing world edit her voice. She’s the blueprint for creative self-possession. She owned her identity and made that her power.
Peter Tosh
4x4 feet
Acrylic on salvaged wood
2023
Peter Tosh was the rebel. He stood in the fire. His music, his politics, his very look—all defied expectation. He didn’t care about palatability. He was about truth, not approval.
Half Pint Pygmy
4x3 feet
Mixed media on salvaged wood
2024
"Half Pint Pygmy" draws inspiration from early animation and cinema to critique how Black characters have been depicted as subhuman or animalistic. The piece reinterprets an old cartoon poster, revealing the casual racism that was once a staple in entertainment. By placing these images in a new context, I want to spark discussions about how the media has perpetuated harmful stereotypes and emphasize the need to rethink these portrayals in today's culture.
Anna Lucasta
4x4 feet
Acrylic on salvaged wood
2025
Sammy Davis, Jr. was caught between the club and the cause. He wanted acceptance—so badly—that he embraced spaces that didn’t always embrace him back. He leaned into performance, into assimilation, but it came at a cost. He was always balancing spectacle with sincerity.
Eartha Kitt's mixed race identity caused her to be othered in Black and white communities. From this she seized an opportunity to develop her an identity she saw as being beyond racial constructs. Even in the entertainment world, she never fit in with or abided by industry standards.
