COL Gallery is excited to present Antwoine Washington: Life Be Lifing on view September 4th through November 6th.
Antwoine Washington’s path to becoming an artist was neither linear nor predetermined. Before committing to painting full-time, he worked as a mail carrier with the United States Postal Service. In 2018, Washington survived a stroke that forced him to pause and re-evaluate his life and direction. The experience deepened his understanding of care, vulnerability, and the fragility of the everyday—elements that now resonate throughout both his portraits of Black familial life and his more abstract paintings.
In his words: “Life Be Lifing is an expression of what it means to move through life when it doesn’t slow down, soften up, or make sense. This body of work sits in the tension between survival and understanding, where grief, pressure, and everyday reality collide. These paintings are the result of lived experience. They come with memories of losing family and friends, missed opportunities, and the quiet battles of being misunderstood, judged, or isolated. There’s frustration here, as much with human interaction and systems, and expectations, but also honesty.”
