Rico Gatson, John Lewis, 2020; Signed and Numbered Limited Edition Print

Rico Gatson’s newest work made exclusively for ART FOR CHANGE, John Lewis (2020), honors the trailblazing icon who became a towering figure of the civil rights movement and a longtime US congressman. The print is reminiscent of Gatson’s characteristic collage style where iconic figures radiate Pan-African colors in celebration of African-American history and culture. “I was thinking early on about these figures as superheroes. As the series progressed, they became literally icons—the halos and lines are a graphic representation of energy coming out of them. The most important part for me is feeling.” Through his work incorporating portraits of Black leaders and icons, Rico Gatson creates an archive of history that honors the importance of Black lives. 

Rico Gatson is an artist who lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. His accolades include a solo-show at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Icons: 2007-2017, which presented a selection of the artist’s ongoing series of works on paper featuring renowned figures of African-American history and culture including James Baldwin, Maya Angelou, Barack and Michelle Obama, Nina Simone, and more. In early 2019, Gatson revealed Beacons, eight permanent installations for the MTA at the 167th Street subway station. The glass mosaics celebrate Black and Latino leaders that had an influence on the community in the Bronx.