Why America
The burning question. Sometimes the answer is silence.
Why America holds two words that came out of watching this country turn against itself. Bias. Discrimination. A refusal to extend basic compassion, over and over, until why became the only word left to ask.
The piece is glossy. A little alluring, even, with dim light and half-lidded eyes. That tension is deliberate. Beauty sits right next to distress here because that is closer to how it actually works. The surface stays polished while everything underneath keeps fraying.
Gloss cuts two ways in this work. There is the shine on painted lips. And there is what happens when the people running this country gloss over harm instead of answering for it, especially harm aimed at whoever has the least power to stop it.
Two mouths taped shut in the flag. Two people asking the same question without saying a word.
Museum-quality matte paper, matted, in a black Ayous wood frame.
More Available Works
Each one of one. Once acquired, it does not return.
Corey Wesley
Corey Wesley is a Harlem artist. His practice was shaped by the faces he studied on the subway, in recovery rooms, in the space between performance and collapse. He creates what remains when the face stops performing.
The inaugural exhibition at Goddard Riverside Community Arts drew 150 attendees. Corey Wesley curated the show alongside Scott M. Lilly and Ayiana Viviana. Press, collectors, and interior designers responded consistently: breathtaking.
The faces in these works are archetypes, not portraits. They belong to everyone. And no one.
