'Marcus Leslie Singleton: Return from Exile' to Open at Mitchell-Innes & Nash This Week

Mitchell-Innes & Nash will feature new work by Marcus Leslie Singleton in his inaugural show with the gallery. On view from December 14, 2023 through January 27, 2024, Return from Exile showcases 10 new paintings, including the artist’s largest paintings to date, and his first exhibited video. A deeply personal show, Return from Exile confronts issues of visibility, spirituality and the historical significance of everyday moments.
 
“We are not bound by our histories. I don’t believe we have to keep doing the same things we used to do under the umbrella of tradition,” said Singleton. “That is what I’m critiquing and challenging in the show—attempting to reconstruct a beginning or a new standard of humanizing us in this new age.”
 
Best known for his figurative paintings, Singleton’s new works are directly inspired by archival family footage, including snapshots and home videos provided by the artist’s relatives, as well as representations of childhood recollections and memories that the artist refers to as “visual storytelling.” This process of research revealed truths not only about Singleton and his family, but also broader narratives about the landscape of American history as the exhibition maps a journey from the Jim Crow-era South to contemporary Los Angeles and Seattle.
 
Highlights include Elliyoun (2023), a panoramic triptych inspired by a family holiday photograph that celebrates multi-generational bonds and togetherness. Named for his great-great-grandmother Elliyoun Pulley, the work originated as a black-and-white 1940’s snapshot of the family in Arkansas that Singleton interprets in color. Dee Dee (2023) is a portrait of Singleton’s serenely smiling mother who seems to float in a Matisse-inspired luminous blue.
 
The diptych Man’s Soul Turning into a Rock (2023), featuring a cobalt blue figure at the center, is inspired by the parable of Lot’s Wife that Singleton’s grandparents would tell him in his youth. Blue Angels (2023) is based on a 1997 family snapshot taken at an air show in Tacoma, with kids sitting on the hood of a car, waiting for the excitement to begin.
 
Singleton’s video War Horn (2023) is an eight-minute montage of home movies and found footage, including family videos of children at a playground, birthday parties and riding a hobby horse; snippets of interviews and performances by James Baldwin, Octavia Butler, Jimi Hendrix and Nina Simone; anime and video games; and choir and voguing performances. The video is unified with interludes of calm flowing water and underwater imagery.
    
About Marcus Leslie Singleton
Marcus Leslie Singleton (b. 1990, Seattle, Washington) creates distinctive figurative paintings that deftly intertwine personal observations with broader societal themes. A devoted observer, Singleton always carries a notebook, capturing people, phrases or random thoughts. Using the sketches as source material for his paintings, his process demands a delicate balance of interpretation and recollection. Through natural, carefree and playful brush strokes and an expressive use of color, Singleton’s paintings are both poignant and bold.
 
Singleton’s works have been included in solo and group shows at The Drawing Center, New York, NY (2022); Jupiter Contemporary, Miami Beach, FL (2022); Journal Gallery, New York, NY (2022); September Gallery, Hudson, NY (2021); University Art Museum, Albany, NY (2021); Superposition Gallery, Amagansett, NY (2021); Steve Turner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA (2020); Journal Gallery, New York, NY (2020); TURN Gallery, New York, NY (2019); Medium Tings, Brooklyn, NY (2018) among others. His work has been acquired by the Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL; San Antonio Art Museum, San Antonio, TX; and the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine; among others. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

About Mitchell-Innes & Nash

Founded in 1996 by Lucy Mitchell-Innes and David Nash, who previously headed the worldwide Contemporary and Impressionist & Modern Art divisions of Sotheby’s, Mitchell-Innes & Nash places exemplary contemporary artists within a historical context revealing a continuity of ideas and aesthetic distinction from the Modern era through the present day. Lucy Mitchell-Innes has served as a member of the selection committee of Art Basel Switzerland and is a former president of the Art Dealers Association of America.

Mitchell-Innes & Nash’s renowned exhibition program fosters excellence within artistic practice while forging an informed dialogue between emerging and established internationally recognized artists. From acclaimed surveys of 20th century masters such as Jean Arp, Anthony Caro, Willem De Kooning, Leon Kossoff, Kenneth Noland, Roy Lichtenstein, and Nicolas de Stael, to solo exhibitions of Sarah Braman, Keltie Ferris, Daniel Lefcourt, Eddie Martinez, Pope.L, Martha Rosler, and Jessica Stockholder, Mitchell-Innes & Nash has proven expertise in both advancing the careers of emerging artists and maintaining the superior standard set by established artists.

Test and expand your Broadway knowledge with our new game - The Broadway Match-Up! How well do you know your Broadway casting trivia?	Play the Daily Game, explore current shows, and delve into past decades like the 2000s, 80s, and the Golden Age. Challenge your friends and see where you rank!
How well do you know your Tony Awards history? Take our never-ending quiz of nominations and winner history and challenge your friends.	Can you beat your friends? Play today’s daily Broadway word game, featuring a new theatrically inspired word or phrase every day!