Michelle Major

Artist Statement

I make colorful, mid- to large-scale portraits of people in my community using a collage underpainting finished with oil paint to add detail and depth. Each portrait begins with layers — fragments of text, pattern, and image — that build the foundation of a face before a single brushstroke of oil paint touches the canvas. The result is a surface that rewards a long look.

I make this work to witness everyday people in the United States as they liberate and transform themselves during the country's descent into fascism, and as they imagine a better future. These are not famous people. They are neighbors, organizers, elders, and dreamers — people whose stories rarely get told at this scale.

This work matters because community is the antidote to fascism. I make community visible and tell their stories, so that we are reminded of what we are fighting for.