Raque Ford merges abstraction with storytelling, creating layered works that investigate the ways identity is shaped through traces of popular culture. She is recognized for her innovative use of materials, blending reflective acrylic, transparent Mylar, welded steel chains, and laser-cut text to produce intricate surfaces. Her high-gloss panels are etched with delicate, spidery inscriptions drawn from diverse sources—pop lyrics, fragments of conversation, excerpts from literature, and personal reflections—allowing narrative and formal elements to coexist and interact. Her process engages the history of Minimalism and conceptual art while recontextualizing these forms through the lens of race, gender, and lived experience. Ford combines meticulous craftsmanship with improvisation, arranging text and materials to balance formal rigor with expressive immediacy. Across her installations and sculptural works, she emphasizes the tension between visibility and legibility, surface and depth, inviting viewers to navigate layers of meaning and memory. By merging personal reflection with broader cultural commentary, Ford’s practice foregrounds both the intimate and the structural dimensions of experience, establishing spaces for contemplation, recognition, and critical engagement. ...
