“First Look” Preview: Thursday, July 9th, 5-7 p.m.
Exhibition Opening: Friday, July 10th, 5-8 p.m.
About the Artist
Alpha Massaquoi Jr. is Riverviews Artspace’s current artist- and curator-in-residence. Massaquoi was born in West Africa, Liberia, as the youngest of four to an upper-middle-class family; his father worked for the United States embassy in Liberia, and his mother was a tailor with a small charcoal business. At age fourteen, Massaquoi and his family moved to the U.S. seeking the “American dream.” However, life wasn't easy, the 2008 recession just happened, and racism and colorism were new challenges Massaquoi and his family had to face.
As an interdisciplinary artist and poet, Massaquoi’s practice is centered on dismantling conventions. He takes materials traditionally bound to specific functions—charcoal, coffee, gouache, and soft pastel—and transforms them into vessels of storytelling and memory. Charcoal that is often confined to preparatory sketches becomes a tool for immersive, atmospheric painting. Coffee, a humble liquid, becomes a living pigment that carries both personal and cultural histories. Gouache and pastel are no longer static, but dynamic forces capable of shifting meaning and tactile presence.
Massaquoi received his BA from Towson University and MFA from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University. His works have been a part of major group shows in the United States, including Novo Legado & Black Creatives at The Chicago Museum of Science and Industry, and major solo shows: Black Noise (Baltimore, MD), Black Noise (Boston, MA), and Led by The Holy Spirit. Massaquoi is a winner of the Macon Art Prize, Free Fall Baltimore Grant, Awesome Baltimore Grant, Montague Travel Grant, and The Masc. Independent Artist Award. In 2024, he was a finalist for the AXA Art Prize. Massaquoi founded Hot Sauce Artist Collective, supporting artists and bridging the gap between the everyday person and the arts.