.

New YorkArtist
Byron
Linnell
Edwards

My current investigation, The Construction of the Male Image, asks: How much can the image of a man change before our understanding of who he is changes with it? Through painting and drawing, I return to male figures, using expressive color, distortion, symbolism, and abstraction to examine masculinity, identity, and perception.

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About the Artist

Artist
Statement

My current artistic investigation is The Construction of the Male Image. I ask how much the image of a man can change before our understanding of who he is changes with it. In painting and drawing, I return to male figures, using expressive color, distortion, symbolism, and abstraction to explore masculinity, identity, and perception.

I began painting during the pandemic after fifteen years in entertainment public relations. That experience sharpened my attention to how images shape public perception. The Minstrel Show and Three Off Center are earlier bodies of work; they provide context for this ongoing investigation rather than define what I am making now.

Byron Linnell Edwards
Biography

Byron Linnell Edwards is a New York artist whose current practice centers on painting and drawing. His investigation, The Construction of the Male Image, uses recurring male figures, color, distortion, symbolism, and abstraction to consider masculinity, identity, and perception.

His work has been commissioned by Visa, collected by BET Networks, and licensed by Showtime.

Paintings · Works on paper · Works on wood

Selected Works

This selection documents earlier work, including The Minstrel Show. My current investigation, The Construction of the Male Image, is developing through painting and drawing.

The Minstrel Show exhibition opening, Los Angeles, 2021
Earlier body of work · 2021

The Minstrel Show

Solo exhibition · Los Angeles, 2021

Explore the exhibition →

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Curriculum Vitae

Selected CV

Exhibitions
2021
The Minstrel ShowSolo Exhibition · The Pop Up Shop, Los Angeles, CA
2024
Black History Month, Featured ArtistSip and Wonder, Los Angeles, CA
2024
The Artist Tree, Artist on ViewLos Angeles, CA
2023
In My MindABWB, Los Angeles, CA
2022
Joy All DayBET Networks · Orpheum Theater, New Orleans, LA
Collections and Commissions
2023
VisaCorporate Commission
2022
ViacomCBS / BET NetworksCorporate Collection
2022
Showtime, Your HonorLicensed Artwork · Time Warner
Education
2008
BA, CommunicationGeorge Mason University, Fairfax, VA
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Byron Linnell Edwards
Byron Linnell Edwards
Get in Touch

Studio Inquiries

For exhibitions, studio visits, acquisitions, and commissions.

Email[email protected]Instagram@byron.linnell
Off Center by Byron Linnell Edwards, oil paint and oil pastel on canvas, 2026
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The Minstrel Show, Opening Night
Inaugural Body of Work · Los Angeles, 2021

The
Minstrel
Show

Nine Paintings · Solo Exhibition · November 2021
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About the Work

About the Series

The Minstrel Show examines the history of racial caricature in American visual culture and its persistence in contemporary images.

Across nine works, recurring figures and archetypes raise questions about who controls images of Black life and how those images are consumed.

Simplified figures and emphatic color create tension between the apparent directness of the images and the history they address.

The Exhibition

November 2021

The Minstrel Show opened in November 2021 at The Pop Up Shop in Los Angeles, California. It was Byron Linnell Edwards' first solo exhibition.

The Minstrel Show, Wall 1
The Minstrel Show, Wall 2
The Minstrel Show, Window View