
Michelangelo, Da Vinci and Rembrandt are recognized as some of the greatest oil painters of all time, and many of their works have become synonymous with Christian history. Unsurprisingly, their works depict people who look like them, with white men representing everything from angels to God itself. “We are all created in God’s image,” painter Harmonia Rosales decided to remind us. The 33 year old Chicago-based artist re-imagined Michelangelo’s “The Creation of Adam,” this time featuring both God and Adam as black women. When she revealed her work on Instagram in May, it took the social media world by storm, generating over 10,000 likes and nearly 1,000 comments, not to mention write-ups in BuzzFeed, BET.com, The NY Post, Afro Punk and The Huffington Post, to name a few. Stars like Samuel L. Jackson, Willow Smith, Erykah Badu and SwizzBeats also took notice, and collectors include Amar’e Stoudemire and Steven Bennett (who features her work in “The Bennett Collection of Women Realists”).
Now Rosales is unveiling more paintings in her first solo art exhibit at Simard Bilodeau Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles, opening September 17, 2017, with an opening reception from 12pm – 6pm. Black Imaginary to Counter Hegemony (B.I.T.C.H.) will feature seven of Rosales’ new masterful paintings exploring this theme, including her now sold “The Creation of God.” The exhibit will be on view until October 15.