Welcome to the Art Angle, a podcast from Artnet News that delves into the places where the art world meets the real world, bringing each week’s biggest story down to earth. Join us every week for an in-depth look at what matters most in museums, the art market, and much more with input from our own writers and editors as well as artists, curators, and other top experts in the field.
For centuries, Western art making centered around religious imagery. During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, icons, altarpieces, and stained glass windows were regarded as meditative objects through which the faithful might reach a more profound religious transcendence.
Needless to say, the art world of 2021 is far more secular, and openly religious artists are few and far between. So, what does it mean to be a devotional artist today?
Enter Genesis Tramaine, a Brooklyn-born artist whose expressive portraits have conjured up comparisons to Jean-Michel Basquiat and even Pablo Picasso. As a child, Traimaine first started drawing during church. Today, Tramaine, who is queer, still considers herself a devout Christian. In fact, she credits her works to the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
On this week’s episode, Tramaine joins Artnet News’s galleries editor Katie White to discuss her art, her faith, and how the two are inextricably linked.
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