With prints and playing cards, painter puts Black art in people鈥檚 hands
| Boston
When Sharif Muhammad had children, it changed him as an artist.聽
Mr. Muhammad, who has taught technology at Boston Day and Evening Academy for almost 20 years, only started painting in 2011. When he enrolled in a weekend oil-painting class, he says the creative connection was so immediate that once he started, he couldn鈥檛 stop. Initially, he tried his hand at 鈥渞andom things,鈥� from landscapes to still-life compositions. But when he had his first of two children, he realized they鈥檇 inherit his artwork someday. It made him focus on what he most wanted to express as an artist. So he started creating stylized portraits of people that his kids could take pride in.
鈥淚 wanted people of color to be seen and to feel valued,鈥� says Mr. Muhammad, sitting in a Boston ice cream parlor that is displaying his artwork. 鈥淛ust to know that somebody thinks they鈥檙e beautiful ... and that they鈥檙e worthy of being hung on the wall.鈥�
Why We Wrote This
Expanding the definition of what constitutes art, Sharif Muhammad honors everyday Black people and culture in his paintings. He鈥檚 also upending notions about who gets to own art.
A decade since that first paintbrush stroke, Mr. Muhammad鈥檚 work is in high demand. Buyers have snapped up all his original oil canvases. A protest painting recently adorned the cover of Art New England magazine. His greatest success to date is a line of playing cards featuring Black figures 鈥� rather than the standard white faces 鈥� for the kings, queens, and jokers. The predominant quality of his work is uplift, but it鈥檚 mindful, too, of the protest he鈥檚 been feeling over the past year.
鈥淪o much of his work is about joy and it鈥檚 about hope. But it also tells the truth,鈥� says Rita Fucillo, associate publisher of Art New England magazine. 鈥淗e does it in a very contemplative and very provocative way.鈥�
Putting art in people鈥檚 hands
For years, Mr. Muhammad鈥檚 oil paintings of people of color were mostly purchased by white people. Mindful that his family hadn鈥檛 been able to afford art, Mr. Muhammad decided to broaden his clientele by creating art on an iPad and making it available as prints. Displaying his artwork in an ice cream parlor reflects that democratic approach.
The exhibition at J.P. Licks in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood also reveals Mr. Muhammad鈥檚 stylistic range. Thanks to the paintings鈥� almost neon-intensity primary colors, the parlor walls pop like a Sherwin-Williams showroom. In one portrait, a woman grins in bliss as a breeze tousles her cursive curls. In another section, a mixed martial arts fighter with superhero arms bellows in victory. Nearby, a Black ballerina 鈥� partly modeled with the face of Mr. Muhammad鈥檚 daughter 鈥� sits to adjust her shoes. The artist had to use a reference photo of a white ballet dancer because photos of young Black ballerinas were hard to come by.
鈥淭here is Black art out there, but there鈥檚 not much like mine,鈥� says Mr. Muhammad, pausing between scoops of cake-frosting flavored ice cream. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 as vibrant. [My] themes are Black beauty. Black excellence. Black brilliance. The Black struggle. I want to capture the whole range of the Black experience in America.鈥�
When Mr. Muhammad played Go Fish with his children, he noticed that the deck of cards was stacked with Anglo-Saxon kings, queens, jokers dressed in medieval garb. So the artist created a bespoke deck for his kids. His Black royals look more like everyday people but with crowns. His joker is a woman in a rainbow coat and Jackie O-style square sunglasses. The ace in the pack is a Black Power fist.
He ordered six-packs of cards for family and friends. When he showcased his creation with a video on Facebook, his brother called him and said, 鈥淵ou need to order a thousand of those right now.鈥� Initially, though, Mr. Muhammad ordered 100 packs. They quickly sold out. As did the next 100 and the one after. His latest order, manufactured in China, was for 2,500.聽
Portraits of protests and dreams
Since last summer, Mr. Muhammad has focused his artistic gaze on the racial tumult in the country. One portrait, 鈥淭he Dream,鈥� features a photo-realistic side profile of a man with a dove perched on his head.
鈥淧eace upon Black bodies is basically the message,鈥� he says. 鈥淭he dream is we can walk around and not be brutalized by anybody 鈥� by our own people and by the police.鈥�
鈥淏lack Liberty鈥� depicts an American flag furling around the eyes and neck of a Black woman. It was featured on the cover of Art New England magazine.
鈥淚t was the easiest cover decision that we have ever made on behalf of the magazine in the 12 or 13 years that we鈥檝e owned it,鈥� says Ms. Fucillo. 鈥淲e knew it said what we wanted it to say in this moment.鈥澛�
Yet Mr. Muhammad says his natural default is to depict the sense of wonder and innocence that his children inspire in him. After he鈥檚 tucked his children into their beds, that鈥檚 often when he鈥檚 most inspired to doodle on his iPad.
鈥淭he goal is for our kids to grow up in a world where they don鈥檛 need to worry about representation,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 want them to be able to walk into J.P. Licks and this is normalized, like, 鈥極h yeah, of course there鈥檚 Black art on the walls. Why is that unusual?鈥� It鈥檚 the same with playing cards. It鈥檚 the same with everything.鈥�
