“Darker Than The Color Of My True Love’s Hair (Dark But Not Bleak), 2017, 24 x 33"
eBay has partnered with Chicago-based contemporary artist, Hebru Brantley, who has created an exclusive, signed and numbered print, titled ““Darker Than The Color Of My True Love’s Hair (Dark But Not Bleak)” in a limited edition of 230, available at www.ebay.com/hebrubrantley. The sale will begin at 9AM PST / 12PM EST on International Women’s Day, March 8 and run through March 18.
In celebration, Brantley has chosen to support the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) in memory of his sister and mother. The unique print will be sold on eBay for Charity for $350 – no bidding required – and seventy percent from each piece sold will benefit BCRF. Additionally, there will be a limited quantity of 20 designated artist’s proofs available for $450.
“I wanted to release a print with proceeds going to breast cancer research, a cause near and dear to me,” said Hebru Brantley. “Releasing with eBay is a great way to reach a wide audience while also being accessible to my fan base.”
Hebru Brantley's works are collected by Jay Z, Beyoncé, and Rahm Emanuel to name a few. The sale is an exciting opportunity for the art collectors among eBay's 170 million active buyers to own an original print by Brantley, and benefit an important cause at the same time.
“International Women’s Day allows us to reflect on the strength and achievement of women, which is exactly what Hebru Brantley has done in his exclusive print,” said Sam Bright, Senior Director of Art & Collectibles at eBay. “Our collaboration with Hebru Brantley and the BCRF is our latest initiative in our overarching mission to use the power of our platform to make a difference. We are also excited to give both our passionate and emerging collectors a rare opportunity to own a unique work of a rising 21st-century artist.”
Brantley is widely known for his iconic figures and dynamic street art murals located in Chicago, Detroit, and Pittsburgh, and his work has been included at top cultural institutions internationally.
About “Darker Than The Color Of My True Love’s Hair (Dark But Not Bleak)”
In "Darker Than The Color Of My True Love’s Hair", Hebru uses a collage-like technique to embellish and adorn the hair wrap, which has become a cultural fixture in Black female beauty. Brantley paints imagery into the headscarf in a fragmented and disjointed way, giving reference to the psyche. In the scarf, he references Picasso's "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon", a 1970's comic rendering of the female superhero Storm, as well as quilting, a folk art interwoven into the history of Black bodies in the United States. Brantley also calls into question the ideas of blackness and femininity. The figure, regally poised, with pearls dripping from her neck, recedes into the saturated blue and the work becomes about her hair and head. The head wrap acts as a banner of physiological insight, a physical crown, and an embellishment of beauty. Barely holding her hair, the head wrap, while an image of empowerment and a reference to black beauty, cannot even contain the black female in all her fullness.
This is the fifth painting in Brantley’s series titled “Tignon Law”. The central focus of each piece is the profile of a woman adorned with a headscarf. Tignon Law was passed in 1786 by Louisiana Governor Esteban Rodriguez Miró, and required Creole women to cover their hair with a tignon in order to distinguish them from white women and emphasize their lowly social status. As a rebellion to this law, Creole women often wore elaborately designed, colorful tignons.
About the Artist, Hebru Brantley
Hebru Brantley creates narrative driven work revolving around his conceptualized iconic characters. Brantley utilizes these iconic characters to address complex ideas around nostalgia, the mental psyche, power and hope. The color palettes, pop-art motifs and characters themselves create accessibility around Brantley’s layered and multifaceted ideas. Majorly influenced by the South Side of Chicago’s Afro Cobra movement in the 1960s and 70s, Brantley uses the lineage of mural and graffiti work as a frame to explore his inquiries. Brantley applies a plethora of mediums from oil, acrylic, watercolor and spray paint to non-traditional mediums such as coffee and tea. Brantley’s work challenges the traditional view of the hero or protagonist. His work insists on a contemporary and distinct narrative that shapes and impacts the viewer’s gaze.
Recognized nationally for public works and solo shows in Chicago, Hebru Brantley has exhibited in London, San Francisco, Atlanta, Miami, Seattle, Los Angeles and New York including Art Basel Switzerland, Art Basel Miami, Scope NYC and Frieze London. Brantley has been recognized in publications including the Chicago Tribune, Complex Magazine and NY Post. His work has been collected by Chicago’s Mayor Rahm Emanuel, The Pritzker Family and power couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé. Brantley has collaborated with brands like Nike, Hublot and Adidas. Brantley earned a B.A. in Film from Clark Atlanta University, and has a background in design and media illustration.