Harlem Goddess Series

Part of the Harlem Art Factory Fest (HAFF) 2013

 

Harlem Goddess Series is a sequence of five wheat-pasted trompe l’oeil panels created by Summer McClinton on the front of the 461 Harlem chashama studios on 126th street.  She will begin installing the figures October 1, in preparation for the Harlem Factory Festival on the 12th & 13th.

 

Combining her love for Harlem, the Figure, and all things Street, the figures are statuesque, massive, yet weightless and ethereal, hovering effortlessly within discrete illusionistic pod-like shrines. The work combines references to religious iconography, alien visitation and meditation, while the material references reflect the ephemeral grit and texture of the surrounding neighborhood.

 

McClinton’s work is characterized by its eclectic sensibility – her perpetual mix of existing artistic styles and streetscape vernacular elements combines to create a new genre which defies categorization; thereby increasing the total pool of existing sources of influence on future perspectives.