“The last brother in America” is a contemporary adaption and synthesis of historical events that look at the tragedies and contentions that arises from xenophobia, tribalism, and classism within a pluralistic world. The first reference is from a historical 1941 photo titled “The last Jew in Vinnista” and the second reference is from the painting “Dura Lex Sed Lex” (Arduous is the law but it is still the law) by Paul Jean Gervais.
The painting debuted in “Ameliorations,” a 2019 solo exhibition with Jessica Silverman gallery in San Francisco.
Conrad Egyir (b. 1989, Ghana; lives and works in Detroit) has an MFA from the Cranbrook Academy of Art. His work has been featured in group shows at the Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Cranbrook Art Museum (Bloomfield Hills, MI) and Grand Rapids Art Museum (MI). Paintings have been acquired by the Rennie Collection (Vancouver, BC), the Jimenez-Colon Collection (Puerto Rico) and the Cranbrook Art Museum (MI).
Egyir’s materials include oil, acrylic, glitter, Plexiglas, wood and found fabric flowers. His works are deeply art historical, often making explicit reference to specific works by Kerry James Marshall, Jacob Lawrence, Charles White and Kara Walker. They are also in dialogue with diverse forms of popular culture, whether they are religious, musical or animated.
A link to Egyir’s website can be found here.