Skip to profile content
Discovery
Log In

Hueman

The series was birthed during McGaughey’s 2022 Artist Residency at Chateau Orqueveaux in France, where he reconsidered his usual process of underpainting before applying skin color to his subjects. Instead, he pursued a barebones aesthetic, limiting his paint palette to shades of gray, white and muted blacks. The result was glowing alabaster hues in lieu of black and brown skin tones. This new technique revealed to him that his artistic language doesn’t need to state the obvious but evoke the spiritual and powerful nature of people. Following his time in France, he returned to his parent’s home in Texas, where his mother, his first art teacher, noticed the unique direction in his work and encouraged him to explore and pursue his newfound stylization. The absence of melanated hues commonly associated with being “black” brings into focus the beauty of his subjects’ hopeful eyes, broad noses and full lips brilliantly cloaked in inherited African fabrics. McGaughey stripes his subjects in vibrant shades of color to celebrate identity and question society's notions of race. The works are a juxtaposition of colorism and the evolutionary terms: negros, colored, Black, indigenous, people of color and BIPOC as they correspond to socio-political and economic equality. In defining his work, McGaughey, a full-time artist and certified life coach, shares, “I realized that culture is not only encapsulated in our hue but also in our struggle, resiliency, survivorship and mental health. The paintings, quite simply, are my declarations of love to Huemans (Black people) of the world. With this work, I’m declaring: I see you. I honor you. I love you. I’m celebrating my individuals that I admire who, like me, understand that their artistry comes with responsibility; to speak and reveal the truths of the society in which we live.” Each portrait requests the viewers to look deeper into the subjects and ask that you connect to them. He challenges the viewer's concept of beauty, leaving the viewer with the option to color inside and outside the lines of their own humanity when seeing people who have been othered. Says McGaughey: “I delve into conversations with my subjects, who are creatives as well. We discussed their inspirations, fears, dreams and acceptance. These are intimate conversations and visual life coaching sessions into the minds of People of Color.”

Artwork in Hueman

Filters

Sold
Category
Select categories
Size
0 in 80 in
Reset
Orientation
Portrait Landscape Square
Availability
All Available Sold
Price
$0 $15,000
Reset
Clear Filters
  1. Moment Of Rest by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Moment Of Rest, 2023

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    20 x 16 x 1.5 in (50.8 x 40.64 x 3.81 cm)

  2. Healed by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Healed, 2023

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    20 x 16 x 1.5 in (50.8 x 40.64 x 3.81 cm)

  3. Boys Don't Cry by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Boys Don't Cry, 2023

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    20 x 16 x 1.5 in (50.8 x 40.64 x 3.81 cm)

  4. Biutyful by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Biutyful, 2023

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    20 x 16 x 1.5 in (50.8 x 40.64 x 3.81 cm)

  5. The Invisible Man by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    The Invisible Man, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  6. One and Only by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    One and Only, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  7. Je ne sais quoi by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Je ne sais quoi, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  8. Iconic Vulnerability by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Iconic Vulnerability, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  9. Green Eyes by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Green Eyes, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  10. Flawlessly Beautiful by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Flawlessly Beautiful, 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)

  11. Dans Mes Yeux (In My Eyes) by Demarcus McGaughey, Image 1.

    Dans Mes Yeux (In My Eyes), 2022

    Mixed Media, Acrylic and Inherited Fabric

    40 x 30 x 1.5 in (101.6 x 76.2 x 3.81 cm)