LOGAN CROMPTON

Logan Crompton deconstructs elements of pop culture iconography to explore self-portraiture and identity.  Using painting, printmaking, and collage processes Crompton culls from their personal archive to assemble or pair source imagery within traditional and nontraditional modes of self-portraiture.  This work examines physical attributes associated with personhood, such as likeness with pop culture elements, that speak to their personality or essence. Their interest lies in exploring self-portraiture through aspects of identity as a result of inherent being, one’s surroundings, and upbringing. 

In particular, the collage approach to making speaks to intersectionality and its importance not only within the arts but also as we navigate the world. Their use of antiquated photography processes such as cyanotype and kallitype - in combination with their oil paintings are a physical reference to the history of art within its canon and ultimately whom it was meant for, white people. Collaging various materials such as paper, tape, fabric within photographic transfer processes such as citrasolv deconstructs the accepted ideal in regards to self-portraiture, whom it’s meant for, and what it should look like.

Through saturated colors, gestural mark-making, and collage, Crompton's work elicits a facade of happiness. This exploration of identity through personal history and the physical condition of existing allows for the artist to both celebrate and discuss marginalized aspects of their own existence. Their work, although inherently political through their use of the black subject, confronts the viewer with their own preconceived notions and knowledge. They aim to challenge what it means to be a black artist and whether you can ever truly celebrate your identity within art spaces without catering to the white cube and the audience it brings.