07/04/2026
As we celebrate the Fourth of July and America's 250th anniversary, I've found myself thinking about the stories we choose to tell, and the ones we're only beginning to rediscover.
I've spent the past few days writing about two remarkable artists: Suzanne Jackson and Robert Earl Paige. Neither became an overnight success. Long before museums mounted retrospectives, they were already building extraordinary careers.
Jackson founded Gallery 32 in LA, mounted shows, and created opportunities for Black artists. She pursued her own luminous paintings rooted in beauty, nature, and abstraction at a time when Black artists were pressured to create political works. Her first major museum retrospective, “Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love,” is currently on view at the Walker Art Center, introducing new audiences to six decades of fearless artistic experimentation.
Paige transformed American design through bold textile patterns. In 1972, Sears released a collection of home furnishings based on his designs, making him one of the first Black designers to introduce African-inspired patterns and motifs to a mass American audience. This year, the Chicago-based artist received the National Design Award for “Design Visionary” from the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.
Both artists built something from nothing. They navigated closed doors, created their own opportunities, and never allowed others to define the boundaries of their creativity.
As America marks 250 years, some of the most meaningful American stories are found in the voices that took the longest to be heard.
Robert Earl Paige and Suzanne Jackson are finally receiving the flowers they have long deserved - and they leave us with a timeless blueprint: create boldly, persevere through obstacles, define your own path, and let history catch up.
That's an AMERICAN story worth celebrating!
See full feature: https://trendandtexture.com/two-artists
