{"id":173521,"date":"2026-02-20T23:11:36","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:11:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/173521\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T23:11:36","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:11:36","slug":"artist-angelique-ferrao-comes-face-to-face-with-black-austin-figures-the-austin-chronicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/173521\/","title":{"rendered":"Artist Ang\u00e9lique Ferr\u00e3o Comes Face-to-Face With Black Austin Figures \u2022 The Austin Chronicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a sunlit gallery in historically Black East Austin, larger-than-life community leaders peer through vibrant canvas windows. Masterfully captured by self-taught painter Ang\u00e9lique Ferr\u00e3o, the Black men featured in Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s inaugural art exhibit \u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis<\/a>\u201d invite you to meet them face-to-face.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Loosely translated, vis-\u00e0-vis describes relational context \u2013 face-to-face meeting, or relevance to something or someone. Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s large-format oil portraits range in height from 4 to 5.5 feet tall, bringing viewers up close and personal within the modest Cloud Tree Studios gallery space. Smaller charcoal studies line the entryway, offering perspective into the artist\u2019s creative journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI always paint big,\u201d says Ferr\u00e3o, a former muralist whose work has adorned myriad Downtown walls. \u201cI feel very free and very confident when I work large.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not from this country so I don\u2019t have that way of thinking, but I learned \u2026 some people see a Black man as a potential threat,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut I wanted these men to take up space with their body, their energy. There\u2019s no way you can interpret any of these portraits as hostile. This juxtaposition of taking up space in a small room \u2013 larger-than-life, but not threatening \u2013 that was very intentional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The men of \u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis\u201d represent a broad swath of Austin talent, including musicians, artists, educators, and financial leaders. Some gaze directly through the canvas at the viewer while others gaze into the distance, frozen in a moment of introspective thought.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The series evolved from unexpected origins: a corporate HR meeting in the immediate wake of George Floyd\u2019s Minneapolis murder in 2020. Ferr\u00e3o, who worked for a financial services firm at the time, attended a race-relations panel hosted by her colleague, Lukas Smart, who shared his experience growing up Black in the United States. Deeply moved by Smart\u2019s openness and vulnerability while struggling with feelings of powerlessness, Ferr\u00e3o reached out afterward to ask if she could paint his portrait.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A South Asian artist who arrived in Austin by way of New York City and Bangalore, India, Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s experiences as an immigrant had made her feel \u201cpowerless for a very long time,\u201d especially in the face of recent politics. After attending Smart\u2019s talk, Ferr\u00e3o felt drawn to portray his courage through her portraiture, saying, \u201cI don\u2019t have a lot of power, but I have my brush.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

That initial portrait morphed into a series as Ferr\u00e3o began reaching out to others throughout the Austin community, pushing through feelings of hesitation because she wanted to do the subject matter justice.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI know how to paint,\u201d says Ferr\u00e3o, who found her way to oil painting by way of watercolors and acrylics. Completely self-taught, she developed her technique through trial and error, leaning heavily into curiosity and intuition to guide her through the creative process. \u201cI\u2019m very confident in my work. But I didn\u2019t know the \u2018right way\u2019 to approach the project with respect.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted these men to take up space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ang\u00e9lique Ferr\u00e3o<\/p>\n

The journey to \u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis\u201d made Ferr\u00e3o grow as a person \u201cbecause I had to do a lot of research, have conversations with these gentlemen,\u201d she said. \u201cThey didn\u2019t know me, didn\u2019t know what my intentions were, so I was very nervous.\u00a0But they were very supportive and gracious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was immediately enthralled by the idea of this woman who is not Black deciding she wants to render Black men positively, to place us in a space where we\u2019re often not placed,\u201d says Ya\u2019Ke Smith, a University of Texas Radio, Television, and Film professor whose portrait sits to the right of the exhibit didactic. \u201cShe\u2019s speaking truth to power, debunking stereotypes, rewriting a narrative that has been portrayed since time immemorial. Any artist that wants to add to the [positive] archive and conversation \u2013 we need this work out in the world, and this needs to be championed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresentation really matters,\u201d Smart says of the project. Seeing Black men in a position of honor and prominence in \u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis\u201d \u201chas been a good example\u201d for his teenage sons, who knew that the series began after their father spoke up about his life experiences at work. \u201cI was proud of myself, of Angelique, proud of the other people who were there.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Each painting originated from two of Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s other artistic strengths: photography and connection. After initial contact, Ferr\u00e3o typically met with her subjects to build rapport before photographing them from several angles, always from a lower perspective angling upward \u2013 a subtle but intentional composition that elevated them to a vantage point of power. Finally, each man chose their favorite image for her reference, taking ownership over their final portrayal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very conscious of the colors I chose for each portrait,\u201d Ferr\u00e3o says of her saturated palette for the series. \u201cSometimes art featuring Black subjects subconsciously reflects so much collective trauma in history through earthy, muted tones. I didn\u2019t want that historical trauma attached to my paintings, and it was easier for me to do that because I\u2019m not Black. These men are contemporary, they\u2019re modern, they belong here, and these colors reflect how I see them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the subjects is Chris Rogers, a longtime muralist whose iconic work featuring themes of racial equity can be seen on various city landmarks throughout Downtown Austin \u2013 such as We Rise<\/a>, at the intersection of 12th and Chicon streets. While Rogers\u2019 own paintings typically feature rich, moody tones like black, aquamarine, and purple, Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s portrait of him is drenched in sunny yellows and bright pinks, drawing one\u2019s eye amid a series bursting with effervescent color.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAng\u00e9lique really captured the mood of our conversation that day,\u201d Rogers says of his portrait\u2019s divergence from his personal palette. \u201cColors and vibrations are just like anything else \u2013 they have a life of their own, no different than a musician picking certain chords. The day we took these pictures, there was not a cloud in the sky; it was full of sun. She really captured me, and her painting perfectly aligned with our conversation.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cShe\u2019s speaking truth to power, debunking stereotypes, rewriting a narrative that has been portrayed since time immemorial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ya\u2019Ke Smith, one of 10 influential black austinites painted in \u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis\u201d <\/p>\n

Ferr\u00e3o\u2019s portrait inspired Smith to see himself in a different light. Ya\u2019Ke means \u201cson of God, great warrior\u201d in Swahili, and Smith has a tattoo of the word \u201canointed\u201d behind his right ear that symbolizes his commitment to his life\u2019s work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m anointed to make big films,\u201d Smith says. \u201cTo see a part of me I don\u2019t often get to see right in front of me, it\u2019s a reminder of what I do and why I do it. She\u2019s also capturing other parts of me that I don\u2019t see: That inner warrior that exists in me, the artist that lives in me, the light that radiates off of me. She found those things that live inside of me and was able to put them on canvas.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI never thought I was the kind of person who would have anything like this happen,\u201d says artist\/musician Mike Melinoe. He stopped by to see his portrait in the gallery on a sunny weekday afternoon with his 5-year-old son, Jayce. Jayce alternated between looking up at Mike\u2019s likeness and sprinting back-and-forth through the gallery, squealing, \u201cI like the paintings!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just a tame version of what Jayce feels,\u201d Melinoe admits. \u201cFor him to see this [exhibit], allowing him to see the reality of my life, that anything is possible \u2013 I have so much gratitude. I\u2019m just happy I can share this moment with him.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"5-year-old Jayce looks up at a portrait of his father, artist Mike Melinoe, for the first time. Credit: Mike Melinoe<\/p>\n

\n\u201cVis-\u00e0-Vis\u201d<\/p>\n

Cloud Tree Studios & Gallery<\/p>\n

Through February 28\u00a0\n<\/p>\n

A note to readers:\u00a0Bold and uncensored,\u00a0The Austin Chronicle\u00a0has been Austin\u2019s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community\u2019s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a sunlit gallery in historically Black East Austin, larger-than-life community leaders peer through vibrant canvas windows. Masterfully…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173522,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[70172,132,134,133,70173,70174,1551,70175,70176,70177],"class_list":{"0":"post-173521","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-austin","8":"tag-angelique-ferrao","9":"tag-austin","10":"tag-austin-headlines","11":"tag-austin-news","12":"tag-chris-rogers","13":"tag-cloud-tree-studios-gallery","14":"tag-feature","15":"tag-lukas-smart","16":"tag-mike-melinoe","17":"tag-yake-smith"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173521","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173521"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173521\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173521"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173521"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173521"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}