Published by The Drawing Center. Introduction by Claire Gilman. Text by Theresa Leininger-Miller.
For the past decade, Deborah Grant has interwoven historical accounts and personal experiences with references to contemporary political issues in her ongoing series Random Select. Grant culls material from a variety of sources including magazine photographs, comic books, published texts and art historical reference books to create highly personal, nonlinear narratives that investigate politics, race and cultural identity. Grant’s Christ You Know It Ain’t Easy!! combines painting, drawing and collage to recount the fictional meeting between African-American folk artist Mary A. Bell and renowned modernist painter Henri Matisse. Rendered through graphic silhouettes, intricate line drawings and collaged elements, Grant’s narrative provides an alternate account of the modernist
