“Swaby’s intention of creating more positive images of Black portrait sitters who are empowered to be themselves, beautiful but not idealized, is a message that my colleagues and I are honored to share with our visitors,” says Melinda Watt, the AIC’s chair and Christa C. Mayer Thurman Curator of Textiles, who co-organized the exhibition with Katherine Pill, curator of contemporary art at the Florida museum.
Watt points out that the artist chooses textile patterns that have meaning to her and her sitters—“whether that’s a fabric made in the Bahamas, a floral pattern that expresses boldness or subtlety, or a color that glows with intensity. She achieves her goal of creating positive and empowering images of Black women and girls through her great skill with line and form, endowing each subject with personality and power.”
The theme of liberated personal power and agency is underlined by how the women present themselves. “The subjects in her portraits meet the gaze of the viewer directly,” says Watt. “They pose with a combination of ease and pride.”
