Hebru Brantley, Wonder, 2017
18-color Hand Pulled Screen Print on Mohawk Superfine UltraWhite.
30 x 22 in.
Printed by POP!NK Editions

The work of Hebru Brantley (b. 1981) is influenced by an array of pop culture icons, comic book heroes, Japanese anime, and street art pioneers Jean-Michel Basquiat, KAWS and Keith Haring. His signature characters, Flyboy and Lil Mama, began as references to the Tuskegee Airmen from World War II but now soar through a wide array of their own narratives--as exemplified by his solo exhibition at the Elmhurst Art Museum in 2017-18. Describing himself as an Afro-futurist, Brantley's energetic narratives combine realistic events with imaginative, fantastical fiction, to create fragmented compositions that evoke sentimental nostalgia and inspirational confidence.

Brantley was named one of Crain's "40 Under 40." He has exhibited in Hong Kong, London, Switzerland, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York at venues such as Art Basel Switzerland, Art Basel Miami, Frieze London, and the American Embassy in Sweden. His work has been featured in Crain's Chicago, Billboard Magazine, The New York Post, The Seattle Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun-Times, Hi Fructose and the Chicago Reader. He was selected as a "Breakout Artist" by Newcity and a featured artist during Chicago Artist Month. Jay-Z and Beyoncé, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, the Pritzker Family, LeBron James, and George Lucas are among his fans and collectors.