The title "April" depicts a person described by the American artist Elise Kendrick as a content creator, former podcaster, and bassist to place a specific person inside a painting that, at first glance, seems like only a universal icon of beauty and rest. Created during the pandemic as Kendrick began her “The Aunties” series, the portrait carries the feeling of finding community through screens with a face held close and a private breath made public. The close-up portrait shows a Black woman with medium-brown skin and a full, natural dark afro that fans outward like a halo. Her brows are thick and arched. Her eyes are closed, chin lifted, and deep plum lips part slightly to reveal white teeth, suggesting a moment of release. Kendrick renders her face and neck in radiant bands of orange, gold, green, and violet, with crisp highlights along the cheekbones and nose and cool shadows along the neck. She wears a plain white t-shirt. Behind her, a patterned field repeats jars labeled “Black Magic” in layered blues and purples, like wallpaper, with scratchy, hand-drawn lines. The repeated “Black Magic” jars fold the Black salon into the picture plane. They nod to the alchemy of modern haircare including oils, gels, edge control, and curl creams and likely to a reclaimed language of power, where “magic” names skill, inheritance, and self-definition rather than stereotype. April’s lifted head and closed eyes become an insistence on softness without apology to take up space, be seen, and choose ease. Shown in the Frist Art Museum’s micro-exhibition "Elise Kendrick: Salon Noir," Kendrick’s bright palette and graphic patterning extend her Nashville-based practice of honoring women of color and the cultural meanings carried in hairstyle, texture, and routine. The highlights and the repeating, label-like jars feel like they might be visual shorthand for the salon as both workplace and sanctuary, and for Black hair as culture, craft, and pride.

“April” by Elise Kendrick (American) - Mixed media / 2021 - Frist Art Museum (Nashville, Tennessee) #WomenInArt #EliseKendrick #Kendrick #MixedMedia #artText #BlueskyArt #AfricanAmericanArt #BlackWomen #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #BlackArtist #BlackArt #FristArtMuseum #WomenPaintingWomen

Elise Kendrick, a Nashville-based artist, created “Knotty by Nature” in 2022 at a moment when her work was gaining wider recognition for its focus on celebrating Black identity, natural hair, and cultural heritage. Working in acrylic on birch panel, Kendrick fuses traditional portraiture with modern textures, layering rich colors and carving depth into this close-up portrait of a young Black woman turned to face us. Her hair is styled in several small, coiled bantu knots across her crown, each carefully detailed. Her skin glows with layered tones of deep browns, ochre, and gold, blended with hints of blue and green that add depth and radiance. The woman’s large almond-shaped eyes look steadily outward beneath defined brows, while her full lips are almost closed. Light falls gently, highlighting her cheekbones and jawline, while shadows contour her neck. Enriching contemporary portraiture with authenticity, cultural grounding, and unapologetic self-expression, the painting reflects both personal and collective narratives for Kendrick’s lived experience as a Black woman navigating questions of beauty, resilience, and representation. By centering Black women in dignified, powerful portraits, Kendrick challenges narrow standards of beauty and affirms natural hair for creativity and pride. At the time, Kendrick was active in community art spaces in Nashville, participating in group exhibitions and contributing to conversations around representation in Southern museums. Her work resonated in the wake of broader cultural movements affirming Black identity and confronting systemic erasure in art history. “Knotty by Nature” conveys dignity and strength while celebrating natural beauty and cultural identity. It embodies Kendrick’s commitment to presenting Black women not as subjects of exoticism or stereotype, but as individuals whose presence commands respect and intimacy.

“Knotty by Nature” by Elise Kendrick (American) - Acrylic on birch panel / 2022 - Frist Art Museum (Nashville, Tennessee) #WomenInArt #WomanArtist #AcrylicArt #artText #art #WomensArt #WomenArtists #EliseKendrick #AfricanAmericanArt #Kendrick #Frist #AfricanAmericanArtist #beauty #FristArtMuseum