Byron Linnell Edwards

Artist

I create abstract and figurative works in oil and pastel that address stereotypes, stigmas, and historical narratives. My practice examines social and racial dynamics, fostering dialogue across cultural experiences. Each canvas becomes a passage for advocacy and resistance.

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The Minstrel Show
2021, Oil on canvas, 30 × 24 in.
This series dismantles America’s legacy of caricature. By abstracting minstrel imagery into fractured color and form, it confronts viewers with the persistence of racist tropes and reframes them as critique.Subworks (Private Collection, 48 × 36 in. each, Oil pastel on canvas):Little Black Sambo (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Dandy (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., On View)
Strange Fruit (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Love is Blind (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
American Beauty (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
King (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Mammy (2021, Oil pastel on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Jump Jim Crow (2021, Oil pastel on paper, 20 × 16 in., Private Collection)

For Ahmaud
2020, Oil on canvas, 36 × 24 in.
Painted in response to the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, this work is both memorial and indictment. Layers of fractured color insist on the fullness of Black life in the face of racial violence.

Dual Study on Reclamation & Revitalization
(2025, Oil on canvas, diptych, each 40 × 32 in.)
From Red to Rich reinterprets Norfolk’s redlining history. Reclamation (Self Portrait) layers the African American flag over a self-image, questioning who is permitted to belong and thrive.

Works on PaperComposition A (2023, Oil pastel & pencil on paper, 18 × 24 in.)
Composition B (2023, Oil pastel & pencil on paper, 18 × 24 in.)
Lonely (2022, Oil on paper, 30 × 22.5 in.)
Alone (2022, Oil on archival paper, 30 × 22.5 in.)
Helping Hand (2025, Oil pastel on paper, 18 × 24 in.)
Grandsun, Give Grandma a Hug (2025, Oil pastel & pencil on paper, 18 × 24 in.)
Eye of the Storm (2023, Oil on paper, 18 × 24 in.)

Other WorksUbique (2023, Oil & pastel on wood, 48 × 36 in.)
Protego (2023, Oil & pastel on wood, 48 × 36 in.)
Them (2022, Oil on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Trailing Pinto Man (Oil on canvas, 20 × 20 in., Private Collection)
Untitled III (Oil & pastel on canvas, 24 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Flower Child (2021, Oil on canvas, 48 × 36 in., Private Collection)
Forty Acres and a Mule (2021, Oil & acrylic on canvas, 34 × 20 in., Private Collection)

• Press

Highsnobiety: "For Byron Linnell Edwards, Wellness Is Part of the Creative Process"
URL: https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/on-byron-linell-edwards-interview/
Modern Luxury: "Mind Heart and Soul"
URL: https://digital.modernluxury.com/publication/?i=769066&p=150&view=issueViewer
VoyageLA: "Rising Stars: Meet Byron Edwards of Koreatown, Los Angeles"
URL: https://voyagela.com/interview/rising-stars-meet-byron-edwards-of-koreatown-los-angeles/
Canvas Rebel: "Meet Byron Edwards"
URL: https://canvasrebel.com/meet-byron-edwards/