Artist Statement
My artistic practice began through the lens of photography—a self-taught exploration that became my entry point into image-making and storytelling. Over time, my work has evolved across disciplines, incorporating painting, collage, and mixed media, but photography remains at the core of how I see and construct the world.
My work is rooted in a desire to center Black identity and representation within the realm of fine art. I’m particularly drawn to figuration as a way to reclaim and reimagine how Black subjects are seen—not as symbols or stereotypes, but as complex, nuanced individuals existing beyond dominant narratives. I use visual language to challenge assumptions, often engaging with themes of visibility, beauty, resistance, and self-determination.
At times, my work is intentionally subversive—disrupting traditional compositions, recontextualizing found imagery, or exaggerating elements of dress, posture, or gaze to confront viewers with the absurdities and violences of cultural stereotyping. I’m interested in the quiet radicality of depicting Black people on their own terms, outside of imposed frameworks.
As a self-taught artist, I approach each medium experimentally, letting concept drive form. Whether working in paint, collage, or the camera, I aim to create images that ask questions, provoke reflection, and assert presence. My work lives in the space between critique and care, rebellion and reverence—always striving to make room for new, truthful ways of seeing.
For commissions or purchase inquiries contact :
info@seanpressley.com
843-864-3942
Press and Publications
American Photography 38, See In Black Collective, Architectural Digest, New York Magazine, The New York Times, The Guardian Saturday, Surface Magazine, The Financial Times, City & State NY, Inc Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Harvard University, Brown University, Bloomberg Businessweek, The Atlantic, The Village Voice, Huge Moves Magazine
Exhibitions and Residencies
Woodward Resident - Spring '23
2 Person Exhibition, Roll & Hill, Soho, NYC, Nov 2022 - May 2023
Solo Show, mixed media, Awesome Home Brooklyn, April 2023
Black Art Matters, Zurich Switzerland, 2020