Harmonia Rosales is reshaping the visual language of classical painting, re-centering Black and Latinx figures within traditions that have historically excluded them. Through luminous oil works enriched with gold leaf and pearlescent textures, the artist challenges long-held assumptions about representation and authorship in art history.
Rewriting origin stories at the Getty
Now on view at the Getty Center, Beginnings: The Story of Creation in the Middle Ages positions Rosales at the forefront of a broader institutional reexamination of Biblical narratives. The exhibition explores how origin stories have shaped cultural memory, while opening space for reinterpretation in a contemporary context.
Responding directly to the Stammheim Missal, a medieval illuminated manuscript in the Getty’s collection, Rosales presents a new body of work grounded in Renaissance composition and technique. However, by placing Black protagonists at the center of these scenes, she reframes spiritual and historical imagery through a diasporic lens.
Yoruba cosmology meets Renaissance form
Rosales’ practice merges European art historical traditions with African diasporic belief systems, particularly Yoruba cosmology. This synthesis allows her to both honor and critique canonical imagery.
“I approach my paintings as a way to reclaim stories long erased, using Yoruba cosmology to restore strength and presence to figures often left out of history,” the artist wrote in a recent statement.
A pivotal moment across mediums
The Getty exhibition coincides with a significant expansion of Rosales’ practice beyond painting. It marks the release of her debut book, CHRONICLES OF ORI: an African Epic, and the unveiling of her first public monument, Unbound.
Installed at King’s Chapel in Boston, Unbound features a bronze female figure encircled by birds in flight—an emblem of liberation and spiritual transcendence. Commissioned in response to the site’s historical ties to slavery, the work underscores Rosales’ commitment to confronting institutional histories through art.