"There are no tyrannies that would not try to limit art, because they can see the power of art. Art can tell the world things that cannot be shared otherwise. It is art that conveys feelings."

 - Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine 

Kerry James Marshall

(c)image: Smart Museum of Art
Slow Dance, 1992-1993
Drawing , 191.1 x 188.6 cm
mixed media, acrylic, canvas

In Slow Dance (1992-93) Marshall combines colour planes with different elements and symbols and deviates from classical perspective. A dancing couple stands in the middle of an image filled with colors, patterns, light and music. The interior is replete with a couch, a stereo and flowers, all elements that refer to the middle-class, as well as objects that nod to Black African culture, like a mask, the vase and the carpet. The dancing pair refers to the film Killer of Sheep by Charles Burnett, where there is a moving scene of a dancing couple that made a strong impression upon the artist. Here Marshall creates a space full of layered visual styles and cultural references that circle round the slow dance at the center, though not per se harmonizing with the surroundings.

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