Ahmad D George

Ahmad George (b.1994) is a painter and multimedia artist from Memphis, Tennessee. George received a BFA from Memphis College of Art and has shown in NADA Miami as well as national and international group and solo exhibitions. In their art, George creates kinetic visuals by the use of doubling and blending old and contemporary imagery of the American south. Through the use of Acrylic paint and occasionally fiber, they explore the temporality of violence, personal  family histories, as well as the core “cost “ of things ( both monetarily and morally). Though existing anthropological materials serve as a great resource, they also enjoy creating their own lore and symbols specific to themselves, the south, their spiritual beliefs and etc.

The work of anthropologists, archivists, and familial history keepers inspire me to record stories through painting, controlling and highlighting the narrative of myself and others that might not be told. My paintings are often autobiographical, depicting scenes of personal history remade by grouping regional symbols from Memphis with broader allegorical items. Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, I spent many days on farms with family, some who were rural working class people. Tarps and cotton substrates connect my practice with them because they’re a heavily used material in these environments to protect, cover, and provide temporary shelter. They also “catch the mess” as dropcloths, something that mirrors in the work as I portray scenes of desperation and instability. Acrylic, mixed media, charcoal and tufted yarn make up the backbone of the paintings materially, helping me oscillate between areas of flatness and more voluminous surface play.

Marks are methodically  pre-planned in portions of the paintings, while large areas are left for me to explore looser gestures with charcoal atop layers of paint. Colors hop between bright prismatics and mono chromatic grey scale scenes, traveling back and forth through time from piece to piece. Through the lens of the American South, I mix references from Anansi fables, the films of Jordan Peele, western art history and late 30s animation to create motion and bring a pulse to each composition. Drawing from my rural background, pastoral scenes provide a timeless space for figures to inhabit, run in, escape to or out of.

I’m interested in the mundane triumphing over the extraordinary. I am compelled by stories where the protagonist overcomes a vastly formidable enemy with tools or cunning attributed to the lay person. Common objects, like pocket change or scissors, become reframed in scale to push it into a miraculous space.   In multiple paintings, doubling of aspects of the figures serve to provide a kinetic energy, denote sound and provide an activeness to the subjects. Self Portraits are also strategically abstracted to reveal a personal disconnectedness from my body. My painting practice is in conversation with painters such as Clementine Hunter,  Betye Saar, Kara Walker, Jacob Lawrence, and Kerry James Marshall. My paintings are  stably supported by an active drawing practice.

Zevitas, Steven T. New American Paintings: Juried exhibitions-in-print. south. number 172. Boston, Mass: Open Studios Press, 2024.

The Bottom: Stories from the Neighborhood, UT Knoxville in collaboration with GoodBlackArt, 2024; The Molasses Man & Other Delta Tales, exhibition at Crosstown Arts in Memphis, 2023; Just Visiting, New Art Dealers Art Fair, Miami, 2021