Sahara Longe

Color is the main character in Sahara Longe’s striking figurative works. The artist, who studied classical oil painting at Charles H. Cecil Studios in Florence, brings a vibrant, fresh palette of lilacs, reds, greens, and pinks to techniques and subjects borrowed from Old Masters like Peter Paul Rubens and Titian. Longe’s paintings further update their references by centering Black figures, who have historically been cast to the margins—or excluded altogether—from the Western painterly tradition. These characters, often shown in ambiguous social scenarios and with impenetrable expressions, have traveled around Europe and the United States via Longe’s participation in exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, and more.