Josey, Ashanté, Glass Beads, Acrylic and oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches, signed lower left Artist Bio: Ashanté Josey is a visual artist from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Ashanté enjoys working with a variety of mediums. The primary mediums Ashanté works with are acrylic and oil on canvas. She centers her technique on blending. With influences as diverse as Frida Kahlo and Kehinde Wiley, faces are what she paints mostly. She appreciates their distinctiveness and the limitless conditions to creating portraits. Her enthusiasm for painting was cultivated in high school in 2009, taking extracurricular art classes. In 2012, Ashanté attended The Pennsylvania State University. During her time at Penn State, she continued to take multiple art courses to feed her need for creative freedom, while pursuing her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History. Her interest for painting further developed after graduation in 2016. In 2018, Ashanté decided to pursue art full-time. She has had three solo-exhibitions; E11even, If God Were a Person, and Free Mind. Ashanté has also participated in many group shows as well as an involvement in public art projects. She has enjoyed working on projects with GetGo, Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership, Carnegie Museum of Art, The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, The International Airport, The University of Pittsburgh and more. With her passion for visual arts and experience, Ashanté is looking to use her art to heal, reaching as many people as she can with her artwork in museums, streets, schools, books, businesses and so much more. Mentored by international sculptor Selma Burke at its founding, Women of Visions has sustained 40 years in the city of Pittsburgh as the only non-profit collective of African American women visual artists. Women of Visions mounts group and collaborative exhibitions, teaches classes to people of every generation, and networks to build relationships in the arts and lay community both in and outside the city of Pittsburgh. The members of Women of Visions represent a diverse range of lifestyles and artistic experiences; thus rich and varied expressions of personal, social, and political views are presented in each exhibition the group organizes. Over the course of 40 years, Women of Visions has continued to nurture and support professional and emerging women artists of color, and to bring to the general public the full richness and scope of our cultural heritage. Currently, Women of Visions is the oldest women’s organization of its kind in the country. They have experienced the years of both revolution and evolution. Now, with the country’s historic placement of a woman of color in the role of Vice President of the United States, this historic organization seeks ways to push themselves and their art to the next level. As part of their growth strategy, Women of Visions has inducted 16 new members in one year, amplified their mission with ground-breaking exhibitions, and are poised to pass on their legacy of establishing “excellence in the visual arts” to the next generation of African American women. In 2021, Women of Visions was awarded the title of “American Cultural Treasure” by the Ford Foundation and Heinz Foundation. For more information visit womenofvisionspgh.org. Merchandise will be packed and transported by the purchaser at their own risk and expense. A list of recommended shippers is on our website: https://www.conceptgallery.com/auctions/shipping/ .