The rich diversity of American life is celebrated in an exhibition of portraits by Atlanta artist Melvin Toledo in “The Stars of America,” on view at the Marietta Cobb Museum of Art through Dec. 15.
Toledo, a self-taught painter born in Nicaragua, explores the immigrant experience through intimate portraits of Americans born in India, Colombia, Senegal and beyond. Melvin Toledo, along with curator Madeline Beck, joined “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes to share more abou” the “Stars of A”erica” series.
The concept behind the show came to Toledo in 2007, when he first moved to the USA and discovered the rhetoric passing through American media channels about immigration and race. His skill as a painter had not yet progressed to the point where he felt comfortable exploring the idea at the time, so he ended up sitting in the concept until 2020, when the presidency of Donald Trump inspired him to paint.
“We are all the same; we are all equal,” says Toledo about the foundational messaging behind the show.
“I think what I’ve been trying to do is with each portrait to show a different aspect of every person. It really depends of what is important to them and what is going on in their life at the moment… So that helped me to convey this idea that we are all the same.”
