Artist Statement

​Gabrielle Burnett, a 22-year-old artist, recent graduate of Spelman College, based in Dallas, Texas. Artwork is informed by conversations in black social media spaces, specifically, what it means to be a black artist in the new social media overengagement age.  She believes a new age of black art is emerging in with the increase engaged use of activism on social media spaces, this is with the question of if black art is inherit since a black person made it or is black art always synonmous with black struggle and strereotypes, can black art exist becasue it is informed by the experinces of the artist who was born black and lives as a black person in the western world. Gabrielle explores these concepts through the emotional devices used in 2000s-2010s cartoons, pushing her style to always reflect inspirations like Rebbeca Sugar and popular anime. Garielle's artwork ranges from comic, cartoon-style illustrations to semi-realistic portrait paintings, experimenting with inserting the cartoon world into the traditional art canon. Gabrielle's preferred medium is gouache and watercolor for their ability to build vibrant colors; however, she also works with digital applications to explore textures and the application of traditional art limitations in the digital space, acknowledging that every medium offers a way to start over and iterate. Her color use is inspired by artists Kerry James Marshall and Amy Sherald, who use bold colors that contrast with the skin of their created caricatures. Gabrielle chooses to highlight the complexities of black skin, as she does in creating characters with intricate thought processes. She hopes to leave viewers of her artwork with the thought that being a black American is a unique experience that only the individual controls, freeing black viewers to reconnect with their childlike wonder and be their unique selves. After all, there is no one way to be black, but what we do becomes black because we are black, take pride in that.
 
Mission: To inspire the next generation of black creatives that they are limitless and not limited.