Nikko Washington: For the Old Gods and the New

Kavi Gupta presents a solo exhibition of new paintings by Chicago-based artist Nikko Washington, whose work was recently featured in the gallery’s critically acclaimed, philanthropic exhibition SKIN + MASKS, curated by award-winning rapper and social activist Vic Mensa.

Washington’s emotive portraits of Black athletes make space for new perspectives on the roles of myth, folklore, and heroism in contemporary American culture.

Washington’s position is informed by the ways stories that enslaved Africans brought to this country have formed the basis of American value systems. One example among many is the Uncle Remus stories. Published by Joel Chandler Harris, a white, Southern journalist and fiction author, these morality tales were all based on stories Harris heard from enslaved Black people he had met while visiting Southern plantations.

The fictionalized Uncle Remus, portrayed by Harris as a kindly, wise, elder freedman, narrates the stories, which often feature characters who outwit and overcome stronger and more powerful enemies through brains and skill. The stories transmit ethical life lessons that were subsequently adopted by American culture at large. As such, the characters and tales from Uncle Remus, as well as numerous other African folkloric collections, have been repeatedly rewritten into children's books, cartoons, novels, and movies, partly shaping what is commonly considered the American storytelling tradition.

“These stories were passed down by people who were beginning again in a hostile environment,” Washington says. “They’re Genesis stories, about the beginning of a world.”

Image: Nikko Washington, How the Cheetah Got HIs Spots, 2022, Oil on canvas, 40 x 60 in.