#kajahl

[tredawakandan]

Dope indigenous art from Kajahl💯... The last piece is seemingly inspired from the old official artwork of indigenous Americans on the right💣💣💣

[paintingorsomething]

Kajahl

Architects of Simulation, 2021

Oil on canvas over panel, 48 x 36 inches

[chainsawpunk]

Kajahl, Ocean Guardian, OCEAN GUARDIAN, 2021oil on canvas84 x 66 in (213.4 x 167.6 cm)

[beautifulbizarremagazine]

Every sublime detail amazes me. "Guardian Huntress", oil on canvas/panel by @kajahl. posted on Instagram - https://instagr.am/p/CKwupOVrIJ_/

[sheltiechicago]

“Silent Incantation II” (2020), oil on canvas over panel, 38 x 33 inches. 

Subversive and Grandiose, Kajahl’s Vivid Portraits Supplant Historical Narratives

Through his meticulously rendered portraits, Santa Cruz-born artist Kajahl subverts the tradition of Blackamoor—a highly stylized European aesthetic that visualized people of color, particularly African men, in exoticized forms and subservient roles—by instead depicting Black subjects in valorized positions. Part of a series titled Royal Specter, the vivid paintings center alchemists, scholars, astronomers, and various intellectual figures within grandiose and luxurious settings.

While the artist’s works evoke the racist sculpture and decorative pieces of Blackamoor, they remove the historical context and alter the original narrative through anachronistic details. Each oil painting is layered with imagined elements, from the inaccuracies of the source material to Kajahl’s portrayals of fictional characters. “My fantasy is gazing back at their fantasy. I am their fantasy and they are mine… I am the specter of their imagination,” he says.

All images © Kajahl

“Star Gazer In Solitude” (2020), oil on canvas over panel, 72 x 54 inches

Left: “Moment of Contemplation (Scholar)” ( 2020), oil on canvas over panel, 48 x 36 inches. Right: “Oracle (Holding Mirror)” (2020), oil on canvas over panel, 48 x 36 inches

“Silent Incantation I” (2020), oil on canvas over panel, 38 x 33 inches

“Oracle Snake In Globe” (2020), oil on linen over panel, 48 x 36 inches

[lukegauthier]

[supportblackart]

@kajahl ⚛️ Encoded Oil on canvas/panel 48”x60” #supportblackart #kajahl #encoded #oilpainting #blackart #artlovers #artoninstagram https://www.instagram.com/p/B-VUIHch-r8/?igshid=1go9c98xx5007

[freakyfauna]

Quick artifact study from Veracruz, Mexico.

Painting by Kajahl.

Found here.