Rolling out and Lexus are advancing the narrative of Black creative expression with the launch of a three-part series for the Lexus RX called “The Edge of Black Creativity” where they are celebrating Black creatives who use superior craftsmanship, creativity, technology, and materials to advance a powerful Black cultural narrative and reimagine a new world.
Max Sansing, a Chicago-based artist known for his large-scale murals and fine art paintings, is one of the country’s most prolific and proficient artists. His vibrant works have been featured in galleries, walls across the United States, and featured on shows like Netflix’s “Malcolm and Marie.”
How would you describe your craftsmanship?
Craftsmanship plays a very important role in my process, from sourcing the materials, to the application of the paints and various materials to create a final premium product. And to make sure my execution is the way I like.
How do you keep your creative edge?
I keep my creative edge in my process of creativity, by making sure the work is honest to the directions that I want to go. I make sure that I have always been inspired by things that excite me. And in that, I’m able to create an honest piece of work.
What source of technology has helped along the way in your creative process?
The technologies that have come along that have impacted my craft are various design programs and different apps that I’m able to use on my phone when I’m out in the field, creating murals, or when I’m in the studio building up compositions for my paintings that I’m working on.
What advice would you give to Black creatives?
I’ve always stressed honesty as the best place to start when creating new horizons for younger Black artists. There’s always something new under the sun when it comes from a place of honesty. When people bring something new to the table, there’s always room for innovation. In my work, I leave a lot of room for abstraction, and improvisation because I always like to be surprised when I see the end process. There’s a lot of symbolism in my work. I use a lot of keys, feathers, and different iconography that throw in my work, which is kind of like a patchwork of different meanings to help me tell the story.
What do you want people to take away from your art?
I do a lot of work out on the streets in my mural practice. To see people who don’t think about art daily and connecting to the work keeps me thinking about them in my process and in the work that I create in my studio. I don’t necessarily feel that my art needs to have a thesis for people to understand it. At the same time, I think if it’s able to hit someone on a raw level, I take it as successful.
Where does your spark come from when you’re creating art?
My work has a deep-rooted connection to my childhood from taking the bus to the train, and a lot of the things I saw on the street from the advertisements, hair care products, and liquor ads, all the way down to see the positive images as well, and then how it plays into how it affected the idea of who we’re supposed to be as Black people in our community. All that ties into the work that I create and think about the aspirations of what you want to be and what you should be and what you can be without knowing it. I think that all plays a very important part in my artwork.
Sansing continues to be shining light in the city of Chicago and across the world, and he’s one of the Black creatives that many should look up to when creating art.
