We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Darian Stewart a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Darian , appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
I keep my creativity alive with one key word and that is drive. My drive has been a key to feeding my creativity and nurturing it daily. I have always found a strong path to pursue my creative practice! Whether that be finding inspiration in nature, seeing the beauty in others, exploring art galleries and museums, and practicing new mediums. Having a strong drive has pushed me beyond my limits and there is no stopping me now. Especially when my daughter plays a crucial role in energizing my drive.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Darian Deshawn Stewart (b. Hardy, Arkansas) is an interdisciplinary artist based in New York, New York. Stewart attended Arkansas State University where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in both Graphic Design and Fine Arts. He received his Masters of Fine Arts degree at Parsons School of Design/The New School. He has exhibited at The Bradbury Art Museum at Arkansas State University, 25 East 13th Gallery, the Window Show at The New School, Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Gallery, Mobifest, and Somad Gallery,and Kente Royal Gallery. Stewart loves spending time with his daughter, exploring the outdoors, and fashion.
As a queer Black man, the erotic worlds I occupy blur the lines between pleasure and fear. Visualizing these contradictory phenomena are at the center of my artistic practice. Poet and activist, Essex Hemphill once recognized this phenomena when he spoke about the “dangerous places black gay men are often willing to go in the name of love or desire.” Exploring underground parties, intimate backstage rooms, boudoirs, or other spaces overflowing with lust, risk, pain, and pleasure has called me to envision a sexually liberated world. Through figurative, constructed collage paintings that include beads, plastic, fabric, rhinestones, paper, textiles, and oil paint, I create compositions of spaces informed by the trauma and bliss that arises from the erotic. As a painter, I employ ethnographic methods in which I interview subjects from my community and explore issues such as: homophobia, transphobia, homicides, suicide, abuse, HIV Awarness, and police brutality. In these queer utopias, trauma doesn’t define the subjects, but rather deepens their experience of pleasure. My work has allowed me to explore the dangers of queer life through an American lens.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The most impactful skills within my practice were learning Graphic Design, learning how to paint, and textile work. All the qualities helped me merge my practice into something multidisciplinary.
My advice are for folks to never give up on their journey. Coming from small town USA all the way to NYC now, anything is possible if you believe in yourself. You have to hold yourself down in order to get where you want to be
To close, maybe we can chat about your parents and what they did that was particularly impactful for you?
The most impactful thing my mother and grandparents taught me was to be independent. (Lil Boosie Voice) lol anyway they always encouraged me to get a job and work for what I want in life. They also allowed me to make decisions based off who I was. I had a lot of free range growing up and was able to use my drive reach where I am today!
