Portrait artist Clarence Heyward presents his subjects as emissaries of lived truth in his exploration of identity and Blackness. His most recent body of work, featuring family, friends and trusted colleagues depicted with green skin tones, is a visual metaphor for chromakey, which is commonly known as “green screen”. This technology is used in film and media to allow an editor to superimpose images onto their subjects. By deploying this concept into his work, Heyward coaxes the viewer into examining how their own perceptions distort reality and shape identity. 

Heyward’s paintings interrogate these distortions and how they manifest themselves within the contemporary Black experience. His current work asks critical questions about how perceptions influence our capacity to dream. In The Danger of a Dream Deferred, a self-portrait becomes an ominous warning about work life balance. Conversely, in No Dream Too Big, No Dreamer Too Small, Heyward emphasizes the importance of cultivating and encouraging dreams in children. The same retro helmet, worn by Heyward and his daughter in these two paintings, is emblematic of dreams serving as a form of protection against the harsh realities of life while also acknowledging the precarious nature of dreams as fragile within themselves.