ROSEMONT, Ill. – THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion, the multifaceted contemporary art program located within Fashion Outlets of Chicago, with support from the Village of Rosemont, today announced the program’s newest site-specific installation, Midnight Blue, by celebrated Chicago-native artist Hebru Brantley featuring his iconic Flyboy character. The permanent work will make its debut at the center on Friday, September 20.

“When we established THE COLLECTION, we set out to provide Fashion Outlets of Chicago shoppers with an unparalleled, yet approachable visual art experience,” said Katie Walsh, Senior Marketing Manager at Fashion Outlets of Chicago. “With the addition of this incredible work by an artist as iconic as Hebru Brantley, we are demonstrating our commitment to providing world-class, museum-quality work to the public in an unexpected, unique setting.”

Enigmatic and abstract, Midnight Blue draws inspiration from the world of Jazz, particularly the atmosphere created in the classic tune, “Round Midnight.” The focus of the work is on capturing a feeling – a state of being lost in the moment, carried away by the interplay of colors and shapes. These colors themselves become a dreamscape, inviting the viewer to surrender to their own interpretation. Using shapes that hint at camouflage, the work introduces a layer of tension, reflecting the artist’s desire to create a work that resonates on an emotional level, similar to the power of music, all while existing in a dynamic relationship with its environment.

“Ultimately, Midnight Blue is about setting a mood, a vibe, just as a great Jazz piece can transport the listener,” said Brantley. “This commission by Fashion Outlets of Chicago was an incredible opportunity to create a work that is simultaneously unexpected and immersive. I’m thrilled to join my colleagues and friends represented in THE COLLECTION and I can’t wait for visitors to engage with Midnight Blue for years to come.”

Known for his distinctive, narrative-driven work that revolves around conceptualized characters, Brantley utilizes the characters to address complex ideas while exploring color palettes, motifs and the characters themselves to create an air of innocence around his layered and multifaceted works. 

For more information on THE COLLECTION and Fashion Outlets of Chicago please visit www.fashionoutletsofchicago.com/thecollection.

About Hebru Brantley

Hebru Brantley is an American artist known for his distinctive, narrative-driven work that revolves around his conceptualized characters. Drawing from art historical references such as Robert Colescott, Andy Warhol, Kerry James Marshall and Jean-Michel Basquiat, the work of Brantley reassesses contemporary culture and mythology through a unique lens. He utilizes his characters in a narrative output to address complex ideas around nostalgia, fear, safety, power, and hope. The color palettes, motifs and characters themselves juxtapose this intricacy, creating an air of innocence and accessibility around his layered and multifaceted ideas. 

Brantley’s work is often seen challenging the traditional view of the hero or protagonist. The contexts and expressions of his youthful cast of characters – which are sometimes in autobiographical form – summon the audience to reimagine childhood and the American cultural experience in Brantley’s coined context of ‘dark fiction’. His work is frequently depicted exploring this macrocosm, where dark represents an identity, continent, and mindset. In his Negro Mythos series, Brantley reimagines the super heroes of American pop culture as people of color – as a quest to readdress modern mythology through his lens. Flyboy, his most known character, was also born from this concept. 

Akin to Charles Schulz and his world of ‘Peanuts’, Brantley’s work portraying Flyboy forms a narrative around him and his universe, including characters Lil Mama and Phibby. Flyboy, often seen looking upward in heroic stances, summons the viewer to contemplate the notion of the transcendent or even the impossible despite the ordinary. Encouraging the viewer to align their gaze skyward, above the monotony of the mundane, Brantley’s character gives rise to the notion of possibilities. The viewer is challenged to hope, to audaciously believe they too can fly. 

Brantley’s work as a storyteller frequently extends beyond the colorful dimensions of the canvas. The character, Phibby, with a helmet enveloping his dark face, is Brantley’s further exploration into the identity of the ‘safe black man’. Referencing astronauts and space exploration as well as Kermit the Frog, the observer is able to view his childlike appearance with ease while surveying a deeper context. Phibby is seen experiencing a need to assimilate, as black folks are often accustomed to making others feel safe, even when there is no threat. His bright green helmet allows him to do this, masking himself from society by creating a more approachable external image. Phibby challenges the viewer to examine the necessity to sell oneself short in order to fit into the nature of the colonizer. Brantley addresses notions of how people of color were rarely seen as the hero or the savior, but instead would only gain favor by playing the part of satirical characters. Phibby is the personification of the safe zone for a black man, with his helmet serving as both a retreat as well as a shield. 

Brantley’s recent solo exhibitions include: traveling without moving (NANZUKA UNDERGROUND, Tokyo, 2023), Bound (GGA Gallery, Wynwood Walls, Miami, FL, 2022), Dark Fiction: Flowers & Frogs (Richard Beavers Gallery, NYC, 2022), Saints & Shepherds (Fort Wayne Museum of Art, IN, 2021), Mythos Opus 1., 2., 3., (Megumi Ogita Gallery and Nanzuka Underground, Tokyo, 2021), and Solus (Phillips Auction House, Hong Kong, 2021). In 2019, Brantley exhibited Nevermore Park in Chicago, an experiential fine art installation depicting large-scale narrative work of his characters, Flyboy and Lil Mama. The 6,000-square-foot installation hosted over 23,000 guests. Brantley currently works and resides in Los Angeles, 

where he is also expanding into film and TV directing through his media company, Angry Hero. In early 2022, he released a short film on Netflix. 

About THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion

THE COLLECTION: Where Art Meets Fashion is a multifaceted contemporary art program located within Macerich’s Fashion Outlets of Chicago, with support from the Village of Rosemont. Components of THE COLLECTION include 23 permanent commissions and a rotating exhibition series located throughout the common area of the shopping center. The public art program has invested in works by Daniel Arsham, Derrick Adams, Carlos Rolón Dzine, Jen Stark, Matthew Hoffman, and many more. THE COLLECTION’s rotating exhibitions feature work by a variety of artists displayed in glass cases located throughout Level Two of the shopping center. For more information, visit www.fashionoutletsofchicago.com/TheCollection.

About Fashion Outlets of Chicago

Fashion Outlets of Chicago is an award-winning 530,000 square-foot, two-level indoor shopping center that is home to more than 130 designer outlets, an impressive contemporary art collection known as THE COLLECTION and high-end amenities. The one-of-a-kind upscale outlet property that redefines and elevates the outlet shopping experience, is located at 5220 Fashion Outlets Way in Rosemont –minutes from O’Hare International Airport and Chicagoland’s major highways. For more information, visit www.fashionoutletsofchicago.com. 

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