Last week, I had the privilege of visiting Kerry James Marshall: The Histories at the Royal Academy of Arts. If you do nothing else before January 2026, make time to experience it.
I would have visited during any month of the year but it was not lost on me that October is #BlackHistoryMonth in the U.K.
Marshall is renowned for unapologetically placing Black people at the centre of his work, but what struck me most was his discipline and devotion to mastery. Every brushstroke reflects years of study, influence, and deliberate practice.
As I moved through the nine galleries from Red, Black & Green to Africa Revisited, I found myself thinking about life as art. If life is a canvas, what does mine look like?
There are subtle nods to other artists in Marshall’s work. For example, in School of Beauty, School of Culture, set in a modern hair salon; he places a poster in the background of “Blossom (1997)”, once displayed at the Tate Britain, by Nigerian, British born Chris Ofili. Salutes to other artists included classical French painters Eduoard Manet and Claude Monet.
It was fascinating to overhear the perspectives of other patrons who spotted subtleties, like the calendar covered in red liquid dated 1993, the year we saw the fallout in Los Angeles following the Rodney King incident. I briefly exchanged dialogue with another patron to acknowledge his hushed expression of, “Wow!” as he entered the Pantheon gallery.
The visuals saturate your senses and lead you to wonder how Marshall was able to perfect his paint brush game to this level. 🤔💭
Whilst reflecting on this extensive body of work, it led me to the question; if life is a canvas what am I painting? 👨🏽🎨🎨
As “life artists,” we’re each given:
• A blank canvas (life itself) ✅
• A paintbrush (our skills, systems, and tools) ✅
• A palette of paints (the events, circumstances, and challenges that shape us) ✅
We don’t get to choose the paints we’re given, but we can upgrade our brush. For me, that means investing in health, fitness, and wellbeing because how we move and feel directly affects how we show up every day.
Along the way, we can also salute other “life artists” who inspire us to create better versions of ourselves. 🫡
So I’ll leave you with this question:
👉 What story is your canvas telling right now?
From the Vignettes gallery at the Royal Academy of Arts (Oct 2025) by Kerry Marshall James