Addie Kae Mingilton

Region: West

Website: http://Addiekae.com

City / State: Brooklyn, CO

 I work primarily with acrylic paint; it can be moved and maneuvered smoothly, it doesn’t blend easily, and it allows me to work between thick and translucent strokes. Color is extremely meaningful in my works, along with my figurative forms; it is how I express interpreted emotions from photos into my paintings.

My works are primarily based on photos of my African American side of the family. Being of mixed race, I struggle to find my place of belonging between my two cultures. I am ashamed of my light skin, and that I am considered “passing” as a white person. Attempting to fit into either category of black or white I find myself in a gray paint stroke overlapping the two, not completely blending into one color or the other. My paintings explore the complicated and controversial relationship our country has developed between black people and white people. Through my imagery I aim to educate others on the minority figure as beautiful, relatable, powerful, and belonging in art just as much as the white figure.