Through striking large-scale prints, photographer Deana Lawson carefully captures intimate depictions of Black lives. Lawson works closely with her subjects on how they pose, with acute attention to their position in relation to the richly layered domestic settings that surround them. Inspired by traditions of vernacular photography, social documentary, and studio portraiture, Lawson meticulously composes images of family, love, and desire to create what she describes as “a mirror of everyday life, but also a projection of what I want to happen. It’s about setting a different standard of values and saying that everyday Black lives, everyday experiences, are beautiful, and powerful, and intelligent.”

–From the Glenstone Field Guide