On May 21st, 2024, one day after Ligel Lambert’s 42nd birthday, he had the opportunity to meet and converse with Tschabalala Self at the American Federation of Arts 2024 Spring Luncheon .
Their conversation was insightful and educational. During their discussion, Ligel informed her about the Black Male Professor Art Series. She then introduced Ligel Lambert to Robert Reed, who was a Black male artist and professor at Yale School of Art. He was the only Black tenured professor there until 2014. She also encouraged him to include Mr. Reed in this series. Following her advice, he began researching Robert Reed and started painting the next day.
According to pilarcorrias.com , Robert Reed taught at Yale School of Art from 1969 until his death in 2014 and had a profound influence on future generations of emerging artists, including Stanley Whitney, Tala Madani, Rachel Rose and Tschabalala Self. Ligel Lambert learned much more about Robert Reed and has incorporated some of his findings symbolically in this portrait that he is painting of him.
Below you can watch the process of Ligel Lambert’s painting of Robert Reed coming to life!
To learn more about Ligel Lambert’s symbolic representations of inspirational artists and professors, visit: here
To stay connected and view more of Ligel Lambert’s work, visit: www.ligel.com