047: Marcus Brutus | Radio Juxtapoz

"It’s important to talk about why I make the paintings I do, and why there is a focus on ensuring that within each painting, the black figure is central," Queens-based painter Marcus Brutus told the Juxtapoz team back in the Spring 2020 Quarterly issue. "However, I don’t want to focus too much on specific histories or specific events because I think it then takes precedence in the conversation around the work. To me, these are really just images of humanity. The only politics about them is the fact that I’ve uniquely used black figures. But they’re just scenes of everyday life, everyday situations."

When we initially became aware of the works of Marcus Brutus, through gallery shows with Harper's Books and their subsequent book/catalog of Brutus' works, The Uhmericans, there was something so quietly elegant and yet so perfectly connected with the issues of social and political turmoil in the United States that we wanted to investigate further. What we found was a self-taught artist who returned home to Maryland after a stint in marketing in NYC and found himself compelled to create figurative paintings that told the story of everyday existence as a person of color in America. Immediately, the subtle storytelling of the paintings caught the attention of the fine art world, and Brutus began to showcase these unique works to a broader audience. In the vein of Jacob Lawrence and a more literal interpretation of Robert Frank's The Americans, Brutus entered a long standing tradition of portraiture, with elements of social realism, in American art.

On this episode of the Radio Juxtapoz podcast, Juxtapoz editor Evan Pricco speaks with Brutus about the origins of his painting career, these subtle political qualities in his work and how the recent protests around America will affect his paintings. Also, co-hosts Doug Gillen and Pricco speak at length about how the art world has responded to the George Floyd murder.

The Radio Juxtapoz podcast is hosted by FIFTH WALL TV's Doug Gillen and Juxtapoz editor, Evan Pricco.  Episode 047 was recorded via Skype from San Francisco/London/NYC, June 11, 2020. Follow Marcus Brutus at @marcusjbrutus