b. 1990, Harlem, New York Lives and works in Hudson Valley, New York Tschabalala Self is an American artist renowned for her dynamic portrayals of Black female figures, employing a distinctive blend of painting, printmaking, and textile techniques. Born in Harlem in 1990, she was the youngest of five children and grew up immersed in the vibrant textures and visual stimuli of urban life. Self earned her Bachelor of Arts from Bard College in 2012 and completed her Master of Fine Arts at the Yale School of Art in 2015. Her artistic practice began to gain significant attention shortly after her graduation, with her first solo exhibition in 2015 at Schur-Narula in Berlin. Since then, her work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide, including at institutions such as the Brooklyn Museum, Barbican Centre, and the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston. Central to Self's work is the exploration of the Black female body, challenging stereotypes and celebrating its complexity and presence. She utilizes a combination of sewn, printed, and painted materials to construct her figures, often incorporating elements from Black culture to create quilt-like portraits. This approach allows her to address themes of identity, race, and gender, offering alternative narratives that reclaim and empower the Black female form. In addition to her visual art, Self has expanded her practice to include performance, notably with her play ""Sounding Board"" presented at the Performa 21 Biennial in 2021. She also collaborated with Ugg on a capsule collection that reflects her signature aesthetic, merging fashion with her artistic vision. Self's work continues to resonate in contemporary art discourse, engaging audiences with its bold representations and critical examinations of societal constructs surrounding race and identity.