Master Narrative Tour

Afro-Cuban American artist Harmonia Rosales is among those seeking to radically change this centering of Western ideologies as standard. A selection of her work in this vein is currently on display in the exhibition “Harmonia Rosales: Master Narrative” at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta. (A version of the exhibition was first shown last year at the AD&A Museum at the University of California, Santa-Barbara.)

On August 18, Afro-Cuban artist Harmonia Rosales opened her Master Narrative exhibition in Atlanta. Held at the iconic Spelman Museum of Fine Art, her work connects the stories and characters of the Yorùbá religion, Greco-Roman mythology, and Christianity with the artistic techniques of the Renaissance era. The Los Angeles-based painter spoke with ESSENCE about her new exhibition, the bridge between religion and her art, why she creates in the style of European Old Masters, and more.

Andrews has long considered the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art as a place where “you can go see a solo exhibition of an artist perhaps who has not gotten her due with history until that exhibition, or an artist who is just about to blow up in the art world,” she said. In 2018, Deborah Roberts had a solo show there, while Afro-Cuban artist Harmonia Rosales’s traveling solo show will open at the museum on August 18.

Thursday, Aug. 17 was opening night for the latest exhibition at the Spelman Museum of Fine Art, “Master Narrative” by artist Harmonia Rosales. The collection presents a reimagination of traditional icon paintings, infusing them with the rich imagery of Yoruba/Ifa culture and religion. I am lucky to know that I can trace my ancestry back to Yorubaland and am a Ifa practitioner. Ifa is a faith system with roots in Yorubaland.

The word “renaissance” this year has seen quite a — well, renaissance, thanks to Queen Bey. But it’s nothing new for one Los Angeles-based artist for whom Renaissance-era art is a muse. Rich brown skin covers the bodies in Harmonia Rosales’ stunning Master Narrative, a traveling exhibit at the Spelman College Museum of Fine art last August through November. A re-imagining of the Sistine Chapel ceiling and an ode to the Yorùbá gods of West African spiritual traditions, it’s a reflection of her own journey to self-love as an Afro-Cuban woman. With its centering of Eve as an ancestral collective, it also reflects the resilience of those traditions — once lost in and muddied by Atlantic waters, now retrieved by innate recollection and, ultimately, one’s understanding of the God within.