Brandon Breaux is a multi-disciplinary artist from Chicago whose work includes oil-on-canvas and digital art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Brandon Breaux is a multi-disciplinary artist from Chicago whose work includes oil-on-canvas and digital art. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
Breaux grew up in the Chatham and Grand Crossing neighborhoods on the South Side of Chicago. Breaux graduated from DePaul University in 2006. [6]
Breaux's work focuses on representation of his culture on the South Side of Chicago and his advocacy for mental health, [7] [8] especially in the Black community. [9]
Breaux created the cover art to the 2012 Chance the Rapper debut mixtape 10 DAY . Breaux also created the cover art for the Acid Rap and Coloring Book mixtapes, and Chance's 2018 singles "Wala Cam", "65th and Ingleside" and "Work Out". [10]
Breaux shot the original photo and created the cover art for Acid Rap. [11] The picture happened by chance, according to Breaux: "I had made these tie-dye tank tops before we went to SXSW and I gave them to Chance… In the back of my mind I'm like I hope you wear this." [12]
The cover artwork Breaux created for Coloring Book depicted Chance holding his baby daughter, capturing his facial expression but with the baby outside the frame of the image. [13]
Following the publication of the cover art for Chance the Rapper, artists including Drake, Kehlani, [14] Miguel, and Troye Sivan have released album cover art showing Breaux's influence. [4]
His debut U.S. solo exhibition, BIG WORDS, included painting, print, and fashion design, and was curated by Anna Cerniglia and Alison Cuddy for Blanc Gallery. [15] [16] [17] In a review for Dazed, Vanessa Murrell noted the exhibition's use of typography and figures to stimulate the viewer's right and left brain functions. [18]
Ebony magazine published Breaux's commissioned portrait of fashion icon André Leon Talley on its cover.
Civil Rights Movement pioneer Congressman John Lewis commissioned a portrait by Breaux for the cover of his final published work, Carry On: Reflections for a New Generation. [16]
In 2020, Breaux collaborated with the Museum of Contemporary Art on a capsule collection. [19]
In 2022, Breaux was selected in a cohort of 14 master artists and designers to be part of Dorchester Industries Experimental Design Lab, a partnership of the Prada Group, Theaster Gates Studio, Dorchester Industries, and Rebuild Foundation. [20]
In 2022 the Kennedy Center selected Breaux for its "Office Hours" curated developmental artist residency program. [21]
In August 2024, the Chicago Transit Authority wrapped Breaux‘s SEEN on trains as part of a public art exhibition titled “Track(ed) Changes” coinciding with the 2024 Democratic National Convention. [22]
In 2024 Breaux continued long-term collaboration with Emerald South EDC on a public art mural installation of his SEEN oil-on-canvas painting. The mural, in the Washington Park neighborhood, has augmented reality functionality. [23]
In 2022 Ebony magazine named Breaux in its POWER 100 list of Black leaders. [24] [25]
Raf Jan Simons is a Belgian fashion designer. Beginning in furniture design, Simons launched his own menswear label in 1995. He was creative director at Jil Sander (2005–2012), Christian Dior (2012–2015), and Calvin Klein (2016–2018). As of 1 April 2020, he is the co-creative director of Prada, in partnership with Miuccia Prada.
Acid Rap is the second mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released on April 30, 2013, as a free digital download. In July 2013, the mixtape debuted at number 63 on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, due to bootleg downloads on iTunes and Amazon not affiliated with the artist. The mixtape has been certified "diamond" on mixtape site Datpiff, for garnering over 1,000,000 downloads. It was rereleased on streaming services on June 21, 2019, alongside his 2012 mixtape 10 Day. A 10th anniversary Complete Edition was later released, including the full version of "Juice", which previously wasn't available for streaming due to sampling issues.
Hannelore Knuts is a Belgian model, actress, and artist known for her androgynous appearance and versatility. Throughout her career, she has collaborated with numerous top photographers like Steven Meisel, Inez and Vinoodh, Karl Lagerfeld, Steven Klein and Juergen Teller as well as designers and brands including Alexander McQueen, Prada, Hermès, Chanel, Dior, Jean Paul Gaultier, Valentino, Dolce & Gabbana, Ann Demeulemeester and many more. She has appeared on multiple international covers of Vogue as well as V, Dazed, Harper’s Bazaar and L’Officiel - solidifying her position as an icon in the world of fashion.
Albert Henry Krehbiel, was the most decorated American painter ever at the French Academy, winning the Prix De Rome, four gold medals and five cash prizes. He was born in Denmark, Iowa and taught, lived and worked for many years in Chicago. His masterpiece is the programme of eleven decorative wall and two ceiling paintings / murals for the Supreme and Appellate Court Rooms in Springfield, Illinois (1907–1911). Although educated as a realist in Paris, which is reflected in his neoclassical mural works, he is most famously known as an American Impressionist. Later in his career, Krehbiel experimented in a more modernist manner.
Theaster Gates is an American social practice installation artist and a professor in the Department of Visual Arts at the University of Chicago. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he still lives and works.
Chancelor Johnathan Bennett, known professionally as Chance the Rapper, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Chicago, Illinois, he released his debut mixtape 10 Day (2012) during one of his college suspensions. He gained mainstream recognition in 2013 following the release of his second mixtape, Acid Rap. His third mixtape, Coloring Book (2016), was released to further critical acclaim and commercial success, peaking at number eight on the Billboard 200. At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, Bennett won Best New Artist and the mixtape became the first streaming-only album to win a Grammy Award—Best Rap Album—while it spawned the single "No Problem", which won Best Rap Performance. His debut studio album, The Big Day (2019), peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and saw moderate critical reception.
10 Day is the debut mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was released independently on April 3, 2012 as a free digital download. The mixtape was downloaded over 400,000 times on mixtape site DatPiff, and over 235,000 times on MixtapeMonkey. 10 Day was released on commercial streaming platforms in June 2019, followed by a vinyl release.
Dora Wheeler Keith, also known as Mrs. Boudinot Keith, was a portrait artist, muralist, designer and illustrator of books and magazines, and designer of tapestries for her mother Candace Wheeler's firm, the Associated Artists.
Tahj Malik Chandler, better known by his stage name Saba, is an American rapper and record producer. He grew up in the Austin neighborhood of the West Side of Chicago. He is a co-founder of the musical collective Pivot Gang with his brother Jerrel Chandler, their late cousin Walter Long Jr, their high school friend Logan Yutters, Jevunte Wheeler (squeakPivot), and Jimmy. He is also one third of the supergroup Ghetto Sage, with Smino and Noname.
"Juice" is a song by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on January 31, 2013 as the lead single from his second mixtape Acid Rap (2013). It was written by Chance and Nate Fox, who also produced the song.
Coloring Book is the third mixtape by American rapper Chance the Rapper. It was produced by his group The Social Experiment, Lido, and Kaytranada, among others. For the mixtape, Chance also collaborated with musicians such as Kanye West, Young Thug, Francis and the Lights, Justin Bieber, 2 Chainz, Kirk Franklin, and the Chicago Children's Choir.
Virgil Abloh was an American fashion designer and entrepreneur. A trained architect, Abloh founded his own line of luxury streetwear clothing under the moniker Pyrex Vision in 2012, which he transformed into the Milan based fashion label Off-White in 2013. Abloh was appointed artistic director of Louis Vuitton's menswear collection beginning in 2018, and was given increased creative responsibilities across the LVMH brand in early 2021. Abloh worked in Chicago street fashion, before he entered the world of international fashion with an internship at Fendi in 2009, alongside American rapper Kanye West. Abloh assumed the role of creative director at Donda, West's creative agency in 2010.
The Wall of Respect was an outdoor mural first painted in 1967 by the Visual Arts Workshop of the Organization of Black American Culture (OBAC). It is considered the first large-scale, outdoor community mural, which spawned a movement across the U.S. and internationally. The mural represented the contributions of fourteen designers, photographers, painters, and others, notably Chicago muralist William Walker, in a design layout proposed by Laini (Sylvia) Abernathy. Some of the artists would go on to found the influential AfriCOBRA artists collective. The work comprised a montage of portraits of heroes and heroines of African American history painted on the sides of two story, closed tavern building at the corner of Chicago's East 43rd Street and South Langley Avenue, in Bronzeville, Chicago, sometimes called the Black Belt. Images included Nat Turner, Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Gwendolyn Brooks, W.E.B. Dubois, Marcus Garvey, Aretha Franklin, and Harriet Tubman, among others. While it only lasted a few years, until the building was torn down in 1972, it inspired community mural projects across the United States and internationally.
Cameron Osteen, better known by his stage name Cam O'bi, is an American record producer, singer-songwriter and audio engineer. He has produced for Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Mick Jenkins, Noname, J. Cole, Bas, Saba, and Isaiah Rashad. His upcoming debut album is titled Grown Ass Kid.
Tyler Mitchell is an American photographer. He is based in Brooklyn, New York, and is best known for his cover photo of Beyoncé for the cover of Vogue.
The Big Day is the debut studio album by American rapper Chance the Rapper, released on July 26, 2019. The album follows several mixtapes by the rapper including the reissue of his collaborative Merry Christmas Lil' Mama in 2017, and was his first solo project since Coloring Book in 2016. The album was heavily influenced by Chance's marriage to his then wife. The album was lauded by most critics, but certain aspects of the work found limited commercial success. The album received widespread negative attention and backlash from fans on social media and other Internet communities citing inconsistencies of quality throughout the work. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, Chance's highest-charting entry to date. In November 2024, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 50 on its list of The 50 Most Disappointing Albums of All Time.
Rebuild Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to transforming buildings and neighborhoods in South Side Chicago, sustaining cultural development as well as celebrating art. The Rebuild Foundation was founded in 2009 by Theaster Gates, a social practice installation artist. The Foundation is currently composed of seven projects.
eliza myrie is a visual artist who lives and works in Chicago, IL. Myrie works in a variety of media including sculpture, participatory installation art, public art, and printmaking.
Maya Bird-Murphy, is an American architect, and educator. She is the Founder and Executive Director of Mobile Makers Chicago, a nonprofit that focuses on making design accessible to underrepresented communities. She has received awards and recognition from both AIA and AIGA.
Nia Keturah Calhoun is a DC-based multidisciplinary artist who is best known for her mural on 14th Street of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. Her work was exhibited by Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center, 2017 Women's March, and the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The Human Rights Campaign had also partnered with her in 2022.
