Michael Ray Charles addresses racial discrimination
Born in 1967 in Louisiana, USA, Michael Ray Charles spent the majority of his youth in Los Angeles, New Orleans and St. Martinville, Louisiana, where he graduated from senior high school in 1985. He studied design and advertising at McNeese State University in Lake Charles, Louisiana, graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1989, and then attended the University of Houston, where he obtained his Master of Fine Arts in 1993. Afterwards, he taught at the University of Texas in Austin. In the 1990s, Michael Ray Charles also attracted attention as an artist for the first time: from the very beginning, the sensitive topic of racial discrimination was at the centre of his work, depicting the darkest pages of US history in great colour, which not only brought him rapidly growing popularity, but also caused a great deal of controversy.
Criticism of traditional stereotypes and caricatures
Michael Ray Charles often uses the language of product advertising in his pictures and analyses it for racist stereotypes. He depicts how African-Americans are seen in history and society - and how they see themselves. His quotes from the colourful world of comics and advertising are sometimes interpreted by critics as trivialisation and are themselves described as racist. Frustration at this public hostility and controversy led the artist to lead an extremely reclusive life for over two decades. Nevertheless, he considers it important to repeat these problematic motifs and bring them back into the public eye in order to address their damaging effect on the lives of the African-American population. Charles deliberately gives his pictures a worn and faded look, reminiscent of peeling posters of commercial vintage art. Time and again, well-known caricatures and figures appear that have promoted racist stereotypes in everyday American life for decades and are criticised by Charles for this. For example, Aunt Jemima, a figure who was conceived as a caring domestic servant for a white family is frequently depicted by Charles in the elevated status of a heroine in a regal pose.
International exhibition successes and awards
Michael Ray Charles was one of the first African-American artists to be widely recognised and has been represented in numerous solo and group exhibitions in the USA and Europe. His admirers include director Spike Lee, who hired him as a consultant for his satirical film Bamboozled in 2000, and in 2006, the documentary film Race is the Place was made, which portrays Charles and his art, amongst other artists. Michael Ray Charles has won prizes and awards for his art, including the prestigious Rome Prize in 2018. His trademark is an upside-down penny, which he incorporates into all of his paintings. His work Forever Free, One and Another was sold for 100,000 US dollars in 2019.
Michael Ray Charles lives and works in Houston, Texas.
Michael Ray Charles - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
