Malcolm Jenkins.
Malcolm Jenkins is a two-time Super Bowl Champion, cultural creator, and founder of The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation. As a passionate advocate for educational equity and creative expression, Malcolm is dedicated to building legacy through art, impact, and community.
Here, he shares his thoughts on six works on offer in Phillips’ Modern & Contemporary Art Day Sale, Afternoon Session in New York, with proceeds benefiting The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation and its mission.
Legacy is rarely built alone.
That’s something I’ve learned over the past 15 years as we’ve grown The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation from an idea into a national nonprofit — one rooted in equity, education, and opportunity. As we mark this milestone, I wanted to create something that didn’t just look back, but asked what’s next. Something that reminded us that the work isn’t finished, and that the responsibility of legacy is shared.
That’s how this collection came to be.
We’re In This Together is more than an auction. It’s a conversation between artists, ideas, and intentions. A living archive of memory, vision, and cultural truth. Each piece was created and contributed by someone I admire — not just for their talent, but for their mind. These are artists I’ve broken bread with, shared space with, studied and supported. Their work reflects the values I try to live by: authenticity, imagination, care, and curiosity.
YoYo Lander, Helen, 2023. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
YoYo Lander’s Helen speaks to me on a deeply physical level. Built from stained and layered watercolor paper, the portrait captures the tension that lives inside quiet moments. A woman in a green sweater stares back at us — still, but not at peace. YoYo’s mastery is in how she handles posture, gesture, and weight. She understands that the body never lies. It holds what we often can’t say out loud. As someone who’s spent years reading bodies on the field, and years trying to understand his own, I see her work as a map of the internal world.
Adrian Armstrong, Luke 15:24, 2025. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
That interior world pulses in Adrian Armstrong’s Luke 15:24, a piece born from parties, real-life snapshots, and spiritual reflection. Adrian’s work reminds me that joy is sacred. That heaven can be found in the middle of a room full of Black people laughing and dancing and being free. His layering — of music, color, memory — feels like a mixtape for the soul. We talked about that idea once: how presence is a kind of time travel. His work holds space for the moments we forget to notice, and reminds us to slow down and feel them while they’re still happening.
Hebru Brantley, Dream Catcher, 2025. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
That energy shifts in Hebru Brantley’s Dreamcatcher, where one of his iconic characters stares off in a moment of daydream. Hebru’s work always lives at the intersection of myth and memory. He uses bright colors and youthful figures to draw you in, but what’s underneath is deep — our histories, our heroes, our survival. For a generation of Black children like me who didn’t grow up seeing ourselves in comic books or fine art, Hebru gave us the permission to imagine.
Dominic Chambers, Thunderscape (Crimson Child), 2025. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
That kind of permission is sacred, especially when it comes with rest. Dominic Chambers’ painting doesn’t demand your attention — it offers you peace. A figure sits in a red forest, at ease, but the color tells you there’s more going on. That’s where Dominic flexes. The emotion isn’t in the expression — it’s in the environment. The atmosphere becomes the subject’s inner world. Dom, like his paintings, has a vibrant and intense inner world. I admire the stillness that hums with power.
Anthony Olubunmi Akinbola, Brown Bear, 2024. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
That balance between softness and strength runs through Anthony Akinbola’s Brown Bear, an abstract work constructed entirely from durags. I wore durags religiously growing up — every night, every color. It wasn’t just about waves. It was about pride, discipline, care. Seeing those same materials turned into a monumental artwork stopped me in my tracks. Anthony doesn’t sanitize the object — he honors it. Lets the “Made in China” tags hang. Elevates the fabric without erasing its story. In a world that tried to criminalize these symbols, his work is resistance, memory, and design all at once.
Tavares Strachan, We Are in This Together (Pink), 2019. Modern & Contemporary Art New York Day Sale, Afternoon Session.
And anchoring the entire collection is Tavares Strachan’s neon sculpture, We’re In This Together. Six words that feel simple — until you really sit with them. Because if we were truly in this together, would we need to be reminded? Tavares’ work lives in that contradiction. His practice challenges us to confront what we’ve erased, what we’re building, and how we stay connected. He’s not just an artist. He’s a philosopher, a builder of systems, a keeper of cultural memory. I consider it an honor to know him, to learn from him, and to carry this piece forward in a moment that demands clarity and courage.
Each of these works stands on its own. But together, they form a blueprint — for how art can be both personal and political, spiritual and grounded, beautiful and unflinching. This isn’t just a collection of objects. It’s a testimony to what we value, what we remember, and how we show up for one another.
Proceeds from this auction will directly support The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation as we expand our programs and deepen our commitment to educational equity. But more than that, this auction is an invitation. To invest. To reflect. To participate.
Legacy doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built choice by choice, relationship by relationship, story by story.
And if it’s going to mean anything, it has to be built together.
—Malcolm Jenkins
Founder, The Malcolm Jenkins Foundation
To explore more stories behind the artists featured in this auction, visit Malcolm Jenkins’ Substack, Love, Art & War, where he shares personal reflections on the intersection of culture, creativity, and purpose.
Discover More from Modern & Contemporary Art >