Lavar Munroe

Place: Nassau

Born: 1982

Biography:

Lavar Munroe is a Bahamian-American artist, working primarily in painting, cardboard sculptural installations, and mixed media drawings. His work is often categorized as: a hybrid medium that straddle the line between sculpture and painting. Munroe lives and works in the United States. He has traveled extensively across Africa, studying folklore, fables, and historic films, drawing comparisons between his upbringing in the Bahamas and his travels. His work examines themes present in folklore, fables, and historic films, addressing multiple narratives that span personal, historical, and mythological references. Munroe's work presents conflicts between a desire to escape and the longing for home while challenging us to journey beyond the familiar. He incorporates sentimental objects collected from his family and objects found during his travels into his artwork. His style is characterized by the use of mixed media, including acrylic paint, house paint, oil pastel, glass, newspapers, crocheted and synthetic flowers, feathers, and jewelry. Munroe has received several awards and fellowships, including a 2023 Guggenheim Fellowship.