Marcus Brutus, Can’t Stop the Reign (2021). Courtesy Harper’s, New York.
Marcus Brutus’s newest works, which take inspiration from photographers William Eggleston and Birney Imes, are 22 canvases celebrating Black life in America at its most mundane: cooking, standing in the rain, stealing a moment for a cigarette. This is the self-taught artist’s fourth outing with the gallery, and his energetic, striking style of portraiture brings Harper’s flagship location to life. The gallery’s run continues at 534 West 22nd Street, with Return to the Source, a selection of books that are integral to Brutus’s practice—Annie Armstrong