In Conversation: Telvin Wallace

In Conversation continues with NYC-based artist Telvin Wallace, who will discuss his recent work and his emerging career as an interdisciplinary artist.

Wallace is a 2019 graduate of North Carolina Central University, where he received a BA in Studio Art with a focus on painting and printmaking. Through painting and portraiture, Wallace explores Black mental health and the human condition. "There is something immortal about portraiture," shared Wallace in a Sep 2020 Black on Black Project interview with Anthony Patterson. Wallace was born in Warsaw, NC, and is currently based in NYC. He was selected for a Summer 2020 Rubenstein Arts Center residency, which was unfortunately cancelled due to COVID 19.

"My work questions the enigmatic connotations of our reality by allowing the audience to peer through my lens and my perception of reality. I have the natural urge to create art from the inside out; to make visible the hidden feelings, attitudes, and functionings of everyday life that are influenced by illnesses or traumatic events. Without proper treatment, a person's mental and physical health can fluctuate, causing substantial changes. These changes create a feeling of desolation that not only affects the individual in the composition, but also the world around them. This dystopia is the subject matter of my art." -Artist Statement