Denzil Forrester: With Q

Stephen Friedman Gallery presents an exhibition by Grenada-born British artist Denzil Forrester. The show includes new paintings and a separate survey of works on paper from the past forty years. Forrester is known for his vibrant paintings that immortalise the dynamic energy of London’s reggae and dub nightclub scene during the early 1980s. In his new work, the artist juxtaposes colourful depictions of urban dancehalls with vivid recollections from his childhood and themes of social injustice.

Forrester continues to reflect on Black British culture by featuring contemporary examples of racial injustice. ‘Q’ (2022) directly references a racist incident in the UK involving a fifteen-year-old Black schoolgirl who was subjected to a strip-search by police in 2020. Forrester paints ‘Child Q’ with a sense of reverence, prominently positioning her in the centre of an empty nightclub. The figure’s hands are placed delicately one on top of the other and her clothes lay scattered on the floor. The foreboding presence of three policemen suggests a poignant parallel with one of Forrester’s most well-known works, ‘Three Wicked Men’ (1982) – now in the collection of Tate, UK – which was prompted by the death of his friend Winston Rose whilst in police custody.