About Markeith Woods
Represented Artist
Markeith was in the third grade at Gundry Elementary School in Flint, Michigan, when his dad was sentenced to five years in prison. His teacher did not take the time to build rapport with him or meet his learning needs, and his mother did not get him a tutor after progress reports showed he struggled in reading. That year his mother moved the children back to Pine Bluff, AR, where he "was forced to develop independently." A diagnosis of dyslexia after living 32 years without knowing has brought Woods a greater understanding of himself. He understands better some of the effects of systemic structures - inadequate educational opportunity, leaded drinking water in Flint, the school to prison pipeline - and how they have generational impact.
Markeith Woods received the MFA in painting from the School of Art, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 2021. His work has been exhibited at Art Ventures NW Arkansas, the award-winning Fayetteville Public Library, AR, Batesville Area Arts Council, Batesville, AR, Agora Gallery, NYC, and Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council, AR. Woods is also a recipient of the Artists 3 60 awards for 2021 and engaged by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art's Mobile Art Lab.
In my work, I explore the psychological state of living as a Black male in the United States, always in survival mode in a culture meant to create division and separation. I aim to re-create my personal experiences by using symbols, words, images, emotions, and environments through observation. I identify with the characters in my work, as their experiences and goals reflect a normal state of mind. I am interested in my subjects' subjectivity and think about creating a composition that captures their experience from their perspective. Part of the process is going into the community and taking pictures of individuals in their natural habitat. I aim to show the sitter looking off in a daze and not at the viewer to develop new authorship of existentialism.
About the art
Markeith was in the third grade at Gundry Elementary School in Flint, Michigan, when his dad was sentenced to five years in prison. His teacher did not take the time to build rapport with him or meet his learning needs, and his mother did not get him a tutor after progress reports showed he struggled in reading. That year his mother moved the children back to Pine Bluff, AR, where he "was forced to develop independently." A diagnosis of dyslexia after living 32 years without knowing has brought Woods a greater understanding of himself. He understands better some of the effects of systemic structures - inadequate educational opportunity, leaded drinking water in Flint, the school to prison pipeline - and how they have generational impact.
Markeith Woods received the MFA in painting from the School of Art, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 2021. His work has been exhibited at Art Ventures NW Arkansas, the award-winning Fayetteville Public Library, AR, Batesville Area Arts Council, Batesville, AR, Agora Gallery, NYC, and Texarkana Regional Arts & Humanities Council, AR. Woods is also a recipient of the Artists 3 60 awards for 2021 and engaged by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art's Mobile Art Lab.
In my work, I explore the psychological state of living as a Black male in the United States, always in survival mode in a culture meant to create division and separation. I aim to re-create my personal experiences by using symbols, words, images, emotions, and environments through observation. I identify with the characters in my work, as their experiences and goals reflect a normal state of mind. I am interested in my subjects' subjectivity and think about creating a composition that captures their experience from their perspective. Part of the process is going into the community and taking pictures of individuals in their natural habitat. I aim to show the sitter looking off in a daze and not at the viewer to develop new authorship of existentialism.