Born in Stuttgart Arkansas, Justin Tyler Bryant received his BFA from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and his MFA from the School of Art at Louisiana State University in 2018. Bryant attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and was a visiting scholar at Michigan State University Residential College receiving the Emerging Visions Residency in 2019. His recent work centers notions of representation, fugitivity, and improvisation to create an expansive understanding of African diasporic identity. Bryant is currently an Assistant Professor of Visual Art at Philander Smith University.
Artist Statement
My work explores Black futurist themes using a multitude of materials. The work engages with the theoretical language of the cosmos alongside concepts from Black Studies to contextualize issues concerning Black culture. In particular, my work questions if Black people’s voices are being centered in conversation about the future. Central to this inquiry are notions of Black fugitivity, improvisation, and negation as the work signals an understanding of Blackness that is multifaceted and expansive.
