ART
interview by OLIVIER ZAHM
portrait by JUERGEN TELLER
all artwork copyright SOMAYA CRITCHLOW
and courtesy of maximillian william, london
the young british artist somaya critchlow expresses her love for women in sensuous brushstrokes of dark, rich brown and purple oil on canvas. they depict, with humor and life, bold, curvaceous, and self-possessed female characters of her own creation — fantasy self-portraits, of a sort — that combine and subvert art historical conventions of race, gender, and power. love
OLIVIER ZAHM — Tell me about your subject. You love to paint Black women.
SOMAYA CRITCHLOW — Yeah, I do. [Laughs]
OLIVIER ZAHM — Is it a form of narcissism?
SOMAYA CRITCHLOW — It originated when I took a post- graduate course, and we were looking into art history — looking at great painters and artists. I was frustrated because I wasn’t seeing myself in history or reflected in artwork. It…