“For several years I sketched at a bar next door to my studio with the idea to capture some of that life, the meshing of figures/shapes, personalities, and my reflections. The painting is named after a Black motorcycle club whose members sometimes relaxed there. Contrary to stereotype, no violent incidents occurred there in the nine years I was on the set. Peaceful people—everyday working folks. The painting combines several sketches. The pyramids I added ask the question, ‘What would we be doing, with knowledge of self—and slave reparations?’ I’m sketching in the foreground, at a table on the left.”
—Isaka Shamsud-Din
Isaka Shamsud-Din (American, born 1940). Brothers Phree, ca. 1990. Acrylic on wood. Museum Purchase: Robert Hale Ellis Jr. Fund for the Blanche Eloise Day Ellis and Robert Hale Ellis Memorial Collection, 91.7 © artist or other rights holder
