The painting features a vibrant pink background with a central black drum emblazoned with the words "Philly Joe Jones Mo' Joe". The composition is dominated by the drum, which appears to be the main subject. The artist has utilized a bold, graphic style, emphasizing the contrasting colors and distinct shapes. The drum itself is rendered in a realistic manner, with attention to its metallic surface and round form. The overall impression is one of energy and musical expression, hinting at the artist's intention to capture the essence of the jazz musician Philip "Philly Joe" Jones. This contemporary artwork showcases the artist's skillful use of color, shape, and text to convey a dynamic musical narrative. ...
Marcus Brutus (b. 1991, Silver Spring, MD) is a self-taught, New York City-based artist whose paintings explore ideas of power through portraiture by examining Black American identity and civil rights struggles. Brutus, who holds a Bachelor of Science degree from St. John’s University, Queens and previously worked in Public Relations, deftly applies his innate ability of storytelling to art. Culling from a diversity of source material—fashion, film, music, archival photography, and literature, for instance—he fluidly entwines subtle and overt references to the past and present, working between imagined and documented states to create vignettes that collapse discrete eras and context. There is a palpable intensity to his work, reinforced by a radiant palette held in tension with gesso-bare canvas, and dynamically askew lines that wind and fray upon the image plane. “What I’m trying to do is establish a legacy,” Brutus explains. “I want to show these very contemporary issues but show them as having some long past.” ...
