Downtown…on Chung King Road…Charlie James Gallery debute a second solo show with Maryland-based self-taught artist Glenn Hardy Jr. titled “Who Am I If I Don’t Represent?” The exhibition opened to the public on January 14 2023, and will run through February 11, 2023.

Glenn Hardy’s artistic practice formed in response to the mass of negative visual language permeating the Black American experience: endless depictions of violence and suggestions of danger operating like a net around an entire community, limiting social movement and actively endangering lives. Hardy’s paintings are essentially performative acts of self-preservation achieved through the cultivation of empathy in their viewers. More than mere survival though, Hardy’s works declare a personal and collective determination to rise and to live unapologetically and without fear. In interviews Hardy has consistently expressed an affinity for the work of Kerry James Marshall and Ernie Barnes, the influence of both men being clearly visible in the work. Hardy’s work should also be examined alongside that of 20th century American artist and illustrator Norman Rockwell. Rockwell encoded an index of post-war American narratives through his magazine covers and paintings. Hardy’s work seeks to similarly encode positive narratives of the contemporary Black American experience, and in so doing combat existing bias.

On view: January 14 – February 11, 2023

What: Glenn Hardy Jr., “Who Am I If I Don’t Represent?”
Where: Charlie James Gallery, 969 Chung King Road LA, 90012 
Website: https://www.cjamesgallery.com/