Miles Regis, Woman Magic, 2022. Acrylic and fabric on canvas.
Regis, a black immigrant in America, is known for his intricate mixed media paintings that make astute social and cultural commentaries on race relations, with a positive and unifying message.
This exhibition of paintings and drawings is contextualized around the hot-button topic of abortion. Its visual anchor is a bare canvas featuring nothing but the distinctive image of a wire coat hanger, dripping with blood. The presence of this iconic symbol automatically forces an uneasy dialogue with the surrounding works, which depict hopeful and humanistic portraits.
This connection is based on the notion that acts of legislation and decisions by lawmakers are part of our everyday life, and they affect everyone. This dichotomy is exemplified by the title of the show, “What a Time to Be Alive!”, which can be read negatively as a reaction to political turmoil, or conversely it could be interpreted as being grateful for what we have and hopeful for change to come.
Eve Wood of Art and Cake writes that, “Regis’ paintings insist on acceptance, tolerance and love, each work forged in the furnace of personal observation and a deeply felt commitment to the black experience as vital and necessary. After all, despite our political views and the color of our skin, we are all connected and because of those intrinsic connections, we are all responsible for each other.”
Miles Regis has work in public collections such as the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History, the Californian African American Museum, the Intel Corporation and other notable private collections such as The Bunker Art Space, Halle Berry, Mariah Carey, Spike Lee and Russell Westbrook to name a few. Regis lives and works in Los Angeles with his wife and kids.
