Biography

International artist Antoinette Cauley was born in Phoenix, Arizona (U.S.A.) and draws her inspiration from the grittiness and beauty within her place of birth. Her work is heavily influenced by Black American hood culture with a feminist undertone and an overall focus of Black empowerment. Visually, she combines the dynamism of Black American culture with powerful punches of vibrant color and deep, emotionally driven messages. Cauley attended Mesa Community College where she studied Fine Art with an emphasis in painting. During this time she held a two year apprenticeship with nationally renowned American oil painter Chris Saper who taught her the ins and outs of the fine art industry. 

Along with her unique and distinguishable paintings, Cauley is most known for her nine stories tall mural of Civil Rights activist, James Baldwin in downtown Phoenix, Arizona. Cauley has won several awards for her works including first place at the Artlink 19th Annual Juried Exhibition in 2019. Along with her awards, Cauley has been featured on various television and print publications including PBS, NPR, JAVA Magazine (cover), Forbes and was named one of Phoenix Magazine’s “Great 48: 48 Most Influential people in the state of Arizona” in 2019.

Cauley recently spent three years in Berlin, Germany to complete an artist residency as well as launch her international career. While she found great success in Germany, ultimately she felt that her life’s greatest impact would be in her home, Phoenix, Arizona. Cauley is now based in Arizona and paints from her studio in Mesa.

Artist Statement

As a biracial Black American woman from a marginalized community, my work looks to directly confront and question the normative racial narratives that have been historically presented within art establishments and institutions. By emphasizing the beauty in the many complexities of Black American Hood culture and Black hood feminism, I look to portray the depth and resilience of a demographic whose complete essence is consistently robbed for profit while their own bodies and stories are carelessly cast aside. My work speaks directly to the consequences of American slavery and colonialism.

By pairing the over-commercialized image of Black and biracial youth with bright colors, pop culture symbols, and embellishments that allude to the overall Black American hood experience, my work means to be a powerful statement about who we are as a community and the beauty that is riddled within the streets and walls of our hoods. Playing with figurative imagery and popular culture materialism, my work directly confronts viewer expectations about the Black American experience and calls into question the many negative connotations that accompany elements of the Black community. Often working in large scale, my practice means to take up space both literally and aesthetically as to make the statement that we do take up space and we are not going anywhere.