Leaders of the Old School, 2022

Brandon Deener (b. 1982, Memphis, TN) is a self-taught artist living and working in Los Angeles. The figures in Deener’s paintings and works on paper are instantly identifiable by his signature elongation of their necks. This distinctive gesture indicates Black pride and dignity and harkens to ritual practices employed by various tribes across Africa. While his characters are surreal, he grants them charming familiarity with titles like “French braid over the kitchen” and “Drama at the family reunion”. Deener’s take on Afro-futurism conveys a confidence and optimism that the best is yet to come.