20in. x 24in. ~ Acrylic on wood panel ~ 2020

In the midst of a milestone, 500 professional rejections, Darius Frank created “Don’t Look So Surprised When I Know Where You’ve Been.” A self portrait serving as an examination of self, visualizing identity in portrait. Frank finds catharsis through depiction. A child of poverty plagued by the intersectionality of hardship, Frank renders their self in contrasting hues of blues and reds. These competing tones provide separation between subject and environment in an effort to set the stage for conflict. Where as the subject, softened, suggests a surrender in acceptance.