Brandon D. Landers (born in 1985) is an American contemporary figurative painter and art educator. His compositions often depict portraits of family and friends as well as imagined and daily scenes of Black life with written text embedded in them.

Early life and education

Brandon Landers was born in 1985 and grew up as an only child in

South Central Los Angeles South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown. It is de ...

, California. He concentrated in the visual arts at a young age after falling from a tree in 11th grade. As mentioned by ''The New York Times'', Landers couldn't play basketball while recovering from the accident and started drawing as a hobby. Landers also attended a

Boys Scouts A boy is a young male human. The term is commonly used for a child or an adolescent. When a male human reaches adulthood, he is usually described as a man. Definition, etymology, and use According to the ''Merriam-Webster Dictionary'', a boy ...

after school program in Los Angeles. Landers received a BA from

California State University, Bakersfield California State University, Bakersfield (CSUB, Cal State Bakersfield, or CSU Bakersfield) is a public university in Bakersfield, California. It was established in 1965 as Kern State College and officially in 1968 as California State College Ba ...

. In addition of his artistic practice, Landers worked as an art teacher to young children at the local Franklin Elementary School in Bakersfield.

Work

Brandon Landers's portraits of family and friends are an expansive on the Black experience and art history. In the words of the artist: "I hold value to my art. It’s not just something to put on a wall. I’m not just trying to paint because I think it’s cute. I want people to feel joy, beauty, sadness. I want to use it to show our experience as Black people." Landers work has been compared to art historical references such as

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Robert Colescott Robert H. Colescott (August 26, 1925 – June 4, 2009) was an American Painting, painter. He is known for Satire, satirical genre and crowd subjects, often conveying his exuberant, comical, or bitter reflections on being African American. He stud ...

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and

Kerry James Marshall Kerry James Marshall (born October 17, 1955) is an American artist and professor, known for his paintings of Black figures. He previously taught painting at the School of Art and Design at the University of Illinois at Chicago. In 2017, Marshall ...

. The solo show ''Aretha'' at M+B gallery in Los Angeles was his first institutional exhibition in 2019. He presented a set of large scale canvases and portraits such as the paintings ''The Joys'' (2019) and ''Ways'' (2018–2019). His paintings were presented in two different venues for ''Made in L.A. 2020: a version,'' both at the

Hammer Museum The Hammer Museum, which is affiliated with the University of California, Los Angeles, is an art museum and cultural center known for its artist-centric and progressive array of exhibitions and public programs. Founded in 1990 by the entrepreneur- ...

at University of California, Los Angeles, and at the Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, California. Brandon Landers's work is included in the collection of the

Pérez Art Museum Miami Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM)—officially known as the Jorge M. Pérez Art Museum of Miami-Dade County—is a contemporary art museum that relocated in 2013 to the Maurice A. Ferré Park in Downtown Miami, Florida. Founded in 1984 as the Cent ...

, Florida.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Landers, Brandon Living people California State University, Bakersfield alumni 21st-century African-American artists 21st-century American painters 1985 births