BLACK ART HISTORY: Robert Colescott

Robert Colescott’s work feels super close to my own practice—he used cartoonish, almost chaotic visuals to dive into some really heavy stuff. At first glance, his paintings are loud and playful, full of bright colors and exaggerated characters. But when you look closer, you start to see what he’s actually doing: flipping classic Eurocentric artworks and inserting Black bodies and narratives that had been left out. He used humor and absurdity not to deflect, but to expose things like racism, historical erasure, and how Black people have been portrayed in American culture. It’s that contrast—between something that looks funny or wild and what it’s actually saying—that makes his work hit so hard.

Like me, Colescott used a kind of visual bait. You’re drawn in by the colors, the style, the energy—but once you’re inside the piece, it starts to unravel and reveal these deeper truths. His work reminds me that art doesn’t have to be quiet or “serious-looking” to say something serious. It can be messy, bright, uncomfortable, even a little ridiculous—and still absolutely gut-punching. He was one of the first major Black artists to call out the art world from inside it, and that kind of boldness still inspires so much of what I do.