From a makeshift bike ramp to an uphill struggle with a lawn mower, the scenes in #TitusKaphar’s oil paintings are simultaneously familiar and personal. Drawing on memories, he contemplates the meaning of family, community, loss, grief, and everyday life in working-class America.
These works were made for the artist’s semi-autobiographical, debut film, #ExhibitingForgiveness, which screened at Sundance earlier this year
Trailer:
https://youtu.be/FnsvQTIcRMA
𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘭𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘥. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘭𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.
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𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 — 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 ‘𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘪𝘵. 𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯’ 𝘰𝘳 ‘𝘐’𝘮 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘺𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯.’
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𝘐 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬—𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘶𝘳𝘥𝘦𝘯. 𝘠𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦, 𝘵𝘰 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘸𝘰𝘯’𝘵. 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦, 𝘶𝘯𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺, 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘉𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘸𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.
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𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦’𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘴𝘥𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘪𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘪𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘺. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 [𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘮].
- Andra Day talking about what she gained most from starring in Titus Kaphar’s upcoming directorial debut “Exhibiting Forgiveness"
𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰, 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘸𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴, 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸, 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶’𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘈𝘉𝘊 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴: ‘𝘰𝘬𝘢𝘺, 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘺’ 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘪𝘵. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤. 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘢 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦.
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