Artistic polymath Julian Gaines—also known by his nom-de-guerre, Ju Working on Projects—has made a lasting mark for himself at the intersection of art and culture. The Chicago-born, Oregon-based artist and designer recently debuted a solo exhibition, Painting the Blueprint, at Steven Harvey Fine Art Projects in New York, but has long been a force in the cultural sphere. Gaines, who played football in at Northern Michigan University while studying painting, drawing, and design, collaborated with Nike on a line of custom Air Force 1 sneakers that blend “aesthetics and athletics.” His work as a painter, though, has generated equal acclaim and is collected by such prominent figures as rapper Rick Ross.
The present work, Ben Wilson, 2021, was completed for Gaines’ exhibition at Steven Harvey Fine Arts. Espousing Gaines’ “New Black History” ethos that spotlights influential but underappreciated figures who have impacted Black American history, each work features individuals who have made a difference, including Malcolm X and James Baldwin. Ben Wilson depicts the eponymous high school basketball player, a legend in his native Chicago, who was killed in a 1984 altercation. Gaines strives to pay tribute to figures like Wilson who have been affected by the racial inequities of contemporary America; four of the five works depict individuals who lost their lives to a climate of racial violence. Despite its morose subject, Ben Wilson offers an optimistic and uplifting tribute to Wilson as Gaines paints him “how [he thinks he'd] want to be remembered.”1
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