Parables of Nana: Genesis Tramaine

Almine Rech Gallery is proud to present in collaboration with the Richard Beavers Gallery, NY, Parables of Nana by American artist Genesis Tramaine. This exhibition explores the  universal identity of the soul though the mortal lens of a spiritual being who navigates the world as a  servant of God and happens to be a Black woman, a daughter, a grand-daughter, a sister, a cousin, a  friend, an Auntie, and a Queer wife. Tramaine invites audiences to contemplate themselves in the  presence of Divine spirit through the human face, which cannot see itself unless seen in reflection.  Through layered motifs these faces are like theatrical scrims revealing an aspect of the viewers celestial  DNA.  

Artists like Genesis Tramaine are often characterized as ‘outsider’, ‘visionary’ or ‘self-taught’ because of  their examination of idiosyncratic realities that are imbued with imagination and visual power that  encapsulates aesthetic criteria defined by the art historical canon. Consistent with most self-taught  artists, Tramaine’s intention is not to make ‘art for art’s sake’, but to serve as a medium or vessel with  a spiritual imperative to present portraits as portals to a consciousness inspired by Divine guidance.  Her work brings together disparate traditions, practices and styles to create a visual collage of lines,  shapes, patterns, brushstrokes, portraits and colorful iconography that examines how to restore  ‘wholeness’ through faith.  

Stylistically, Tramaine’s work references urban expressionism and art brut of the 1980s, reminiscent of  Jean Michel Basquiat, without enigmatic epigrams or drug culture to influence her palette or visions.  Conversely, her practice begins with a mental, physical and emotional submission to God with a prayer  before, during and after she works. Akin to her name, Genesis, her practice manifests a spectacular  surrogate universe that consumes her psyche and body into a spirited painting frenzy. Lead by spirit  guides who can be seen within the work, it is not until she completes the paintings does she realize what she has made. This is like glossolalia, or speaking in tongues, in which people unconsciously speak  words in languages unknown to the speaker. 

The work in this exhibition explores how human beings relate inwardly to themselves and their Creator,  outwardly to other human beings, and to the rest of creation. These paintings are prayer paintings  based on the parables of Jesus as they were told by the artist’s grandmother. “I don’t know color  theory or what I am going to do. I just follow what God tells me. I don’t really see the work until it is  finished because they are prayer paintings.” 

Parables of Nana considers whether a coherent form of faith and spirituality is essential for human  beings to feel complete through everyday interactions with God and His creation. The purpose of  parables within the Christian tradition is to evoke internal analogies in which nature becomes witness  for the spiritual world. As an artist, Tramaine is both witness and guide to an ethereal realm through  paint on canvas, ‘ as a radical solidarity and desire for others to experience freedom and life in service  for others through a robust faith.’ 

Trained as an educator and mathematician, her aesthetic is not shaped by the formalism of art school  theories or practices. And, contrary to mathematics in which the physical world is defined, Tramaine  paints the framework for the spiritual world she feels and the sounds she sees. This is evident in the  repetitive iconography and patterning in her work. She says, “In math you have to prove your work, but  I never could do it because it came to me through spirit.” 

Parables of Nana

March 12 — June 06, 2020 • London

Her sensibilities were cultivated by Black religious culture within a household where love, faith,  discipline, hope, prayer, and hard work, mold character. Herein lies the impact of matriarch, Nana,  against the backdrop of gospel music and the storefront Baptist tradition of accountability before God,  salvation by faith alone and scripture as the rule of practice. These tenants are ever present in  Tramaine’s work.  

There is a strong analogy to the structure of gospel music and Tramaine’s painting style. Like gospel  music the dominant vocals parallel her broad brushstrokes, highlighted by vibrant color comparable to  complimentary harmonies. The repetition of iconographic imaginary directly corresponds to the  repeated call and response tradition within the Black American oral aesthetic, found in hymns and  sacred songs. Nana’s Parables are prayer paintings based on the stories of Jesus. Inasmuch as a parable  is a story about a familiar subject used to teach an important moral lesson, Tramaine presents a  familiar narrative to create an understanding of her human experience as a spiritual being.  

Tramaine is among a rare handful of artists liberated from the pitfalls of the art world because she is  driven by ephemeral realities that manifest as paintings gleaned from a spiritual heritage. She is not  unsimilar to abolitionist and activist, Harriet Tubman’s ability to hear her calling. Tubman states,  “God’s time is always near. He set the North star in the heavens. He gave me strength in my limits; He meant I should be free”.  

Halima Taha, writer, arts & cultural strategist and author of Collecting African American Art: Works on  Paper on Paper and Canvas