Hebru Brantley creates narrative-driven work revolving around his conceptualized iconic characters which are utilized 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 beliefs. 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 and his work insists on a contemporary and distinct narrative that shapes and impacts the viewer’s gaze.
Recognized internationally, Hebru Brantley has exhibited in Chicago, Hong Kong, 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, Forbes, WWD, HypeBeast, Complex Magazine, the Chicago Sun-Times, and the New York Post.
Collectors of his work include LeBron James, Jay-Z and Beyonce, Lenny Kravitz, George Lucas, and Rahm Emanuel, among others. Brantley has collaborated with brands like Nike, Hublot, and Adidas.
EDUCATION
B.A. in Film from Clark Atlanta University Background in Design and Media Illustration.
EXHIBITIONS
2019 No ID I Rotofugi Resigner Toy Store and Gallery I Chicago, IL Stance I Casterline Goodman Gallery I Aspen, CO The Great Debate I Gallery Des Baines I Tokyo, Japan
2018 Then There Were Two I Gallery Des Baines I Geneva, Switzerland Lord Of The Flys I Avenue Des Arts HK I Hong Kong, China
2017 Eat Crap King I Vertical Gallery I Chicago, IL
2016 Theories Of The Lowend I Solo Exhibition I Miami Art Basel I Wish I Knew (What It Felt Like To Be Free) | August Wilson Center | Pittsburgh, PA
2015 Memoirs Of The Minimum Wage | Vertical Gallery | Chicago, IL
2014 And All I Got Was Sunshine | Frank Pages Galerie | Geneva, Switzerland Parade Day Rain | Chicago Cultural Center | Chicago, IL. Everyone’s Everything | Mead Carney Gallery | London, EN
2013 What The Traveler Saw | White Walls Gallery | San Francisco, CA Downtown 88 | Ultra Gallery | Chicago, IL. Hebru Brantley | Toys For Boys Miami | Miami, FL Penny Candy | Loews Atlanta Hotel | Atlanta, GA
2012 Brothers Of The Robbing Hood | Ultra Gallery | Chicago, IL Trapped In What I Made Believe | Kasia Kay Art Projects | Chicago, IL artMRKT San Francisco | Tim Yarger Fine Art | Los Angeles, CA
2011 Yesterday’s Losers | Ultra Gallery | Chicago, IL Afro-Futurism: Impossible View | Zhou B. Gallery | Chicago, IL
2010 Common Ground | Elephant Room Gallery | Chicago, IL Wait A Cotton Pick’n Minute | Lyons Wier Gallery | New York, NY Six Degrees From Center | C33 Gallery | Chicago, IL SELF | 33 Collective | Chicago, IL Whup Yo Kids | Silver Room Gallery | Chicago, IL Lions Disguised as Lambs | Punctuation Gallery | Seattle, WA
2009 Fade Resistant | Three Peas Art Lounge | Chicago, IL
Zhou B. Gallery/ 33 Collective | Chicago, IL
2008 A Place To Lay My Head | Artistic Genius | Chicago, IL
2007 Next Black Masters | Hennessy Collection | New York, NY Scion Group Show | Heaven Gallery | Chicago, IL
Pod Majersky Collection | Chicago IL Nevermore | Leaders1354 | Chicago, IL
COLLABORATIONS
Barilla Bleacher Report Cadillac Chance The Rapper Chicago Children’s Choir Chicago Cubs Chicago Marathon Chicago Transit Authority Garrets Hennessy Hublot Jordan Brand Lacoste Mariano’s Nascar Nickelodeon NBA Nike Redbull RSVP Gallery