Black Art Series: Ben Biayenda

I was scrolling through my Tumblr one day and saw this beautiful painting. There were four black girls of different shades sprawled across the living room floor of someone’s apartment. The wall is covered with abstract paintings and a picture of what looks like Grace Jones’s signature haircut and high cheekbones. A quick glance down and you see African sculptures, and books littered all over the floor. This painting is what inspired me to start my new series focused on black art.

Ben Biayenda dedicates his art to showcase the true authentic beauty of black women. He was born into a family of artists who fostered his creativity as a young boy. “My Father, Emile Biyaenda, is a musician. He is a drummer and a percussionist in the Congolese band Les Tambours de Brazza. And my older brother is following in his footsteps. When I was a kid, I was a bookworm and spent the rest of my time seeing exhibitions, because my parents have always lead me towards their passion for culture and art.” A young Boy only in his 20s has devoted his work to representing black lives, body positivity, and LGBTQ inclusion.

What I love about his Art

I personally love his work as an artist because of the uncut way he shows women. Black women in their true colors, not the ones that the media loves to portray. The hairless, overly toned ones that are not at all representative of a majority of women. His work presents unruly body hair, body rolls, lumps, and skin disorders like acne and vitiligo.

His paintings show actual black sisterhood denouncing eurocentric beauty at its finest. He somehow makes these very mundane moments such as gossiping with your friends in the living room, getting your hair done, and even just looking in the mirror different ways to capture black beauty. When I discovered his work I spent hours going through his Instagram gallery. I love how he accentuates real women curves but not in a way to make it seem unnatural. You can tell he puts a lot of detail in his work by the way you can gaze away from the main subject and still see the subtle showings of his pride for black culture.

Thank you so much for reading! Please leave a comment below of what black artists you have been following or would like to see me talk about next!