Everyone is afraid of something, but if there is one fear that many African American mothers still have in common today (or perhaps, especially today) is that of losing their children.
The American artist Titus Kaphar has dedicated his latest series of paintings entitled “From a Tropical Space” to this state of uncertainty and almost terror.

Titus Kaphar depicts scenes from everyday life in which African-American women are busy braiding their daughters’ hair, waiting for the bus, or simply taking a walk. Everything would seem normal if it were not for the fact that, exactly following the children’s silhouette, Titus Kaphar cut the canvas, leaving a large hole from which you can only see the wall below.

This void is emphasized by the bright and brilliant colors used by Titus Kaphar that represent how the world we live in is saturated with everything. The artist invites us to make our own this void that disturbs us, that hurts us, spurring us to do better to allow everyone to live a life without fear.

“From a Tropical Space” will be on display at Gagosian in New York until December 19, 2020.