We had the good fortune of connecting with Celeste Lindsey and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Celeste, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
I grew up in San Antonio, Texas where my love for art was fostered by my parents. I asked for my first sketchbook at six years old after being inspired by James Baxter’s drawing tutorial in the bonus features of Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Since then, my parents have continued to nurture and support my creative pursuits to this very day. A unique aspect of my upbringing is the fact that I was homeschooled—I had an incredible amount of freedom when it came to exploring my artistic interests. Paired with the guidance and encouragement from family, I’ve grown a sense of confidence in myself and my art that has kept me moving forward.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I primarily work with India ink on paper and create imagery of the Black figure inspired by the works of Kerry James Marshall and Kehinde Wiley. My work heavily utilizes narrative, symbolism, and metaphor drawn from personal experiences and religious themes. Through an abstracted depiction of intimate details from my own life–questions of doubt, strong emotions, and expressions of belief–I portray the Black figure as an individual with his own story, experiences, and emotions. These aspects of his personhood are expressed simultaneously as apart from and a part of his Blackness.

I am most proud of my 2021 series Red Journal: More Psalms of David. This was the first body of work I created after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio with my BFA in Painting. I’ve had wonderful artists in my life who have been my teachers, professors, or who have otherwise poured into my work so much over the years—it is difficult for me to speak on my accomplishments without also mentioning the hand one of these people have had in my life. I am beginning to embrace being okay with uncertainty as I navigate my life as an artist—I can’t see a clear picture of where I’m going, but I know in my heart that I am going somewhere.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Albert and Caroline Gonzales run a gallery in San Antonio, Texas called Southtown Art Gallery. It is because of them that I had my very first solo exhibition of my 2018 series of ink paintings titled Youth, and they continue to support me in the arts to this day. The two of them are influential voices in our artist community and are truly “doing it all”—from leading workshops, artist critique nights, and now even a new artist residency program called the Southtown Artist Residency. Besides being incredibly driven as a team, they are equally individually talented artists in their own right.

Website: blxckrabbit.com

Instagram: blxck.rabbit

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