Y. Malik Jalal

Y. Malik Jalal (b. Savannah, Georgia, 1994) employs traditional methods of craft and collage to expand dialogues on Black history, power, and humanity. He draws aesthetically and conceptually from the lineages of his mediums, welding steel and bronze to address histories formed by morphing industries and inequalities. Jalal references traditional crafts and practices alongside pop culture, weaving African customs among violent American events, and employing symbols from advertising and Black horror in an embodiment of collective anxiety. Further layered by lenses of Islam, Christianity, and Spiritualism, Jalal’s work forms a complex expression of Blackness that draws broadly and critically from all directions.

Y. Malik Jalal currently lives and works in upstate New York. He earned his MFA from Yale University in 2024 and a BA from Oglethorpe University in 2016. Previous solo exhibitions include Pallbearer at Murmurs (Los Angeles, CA), BREAK NECK SPEEDS at MARCH (New York, NY), Bent at MARCH (New York, NY), Of Joy and Terror at the Coleman Art Center (York, AL), Altars to the Liver at Institute 193 (Lexington, KY), and A Study of the Supernatural Phenomena of Emergence at the Alabama Contemporary Art Center (Mobile, AL). He has exhibited in group shows at The Carnegie Museum (Covington, KY), SHRINE (New York, NY), Helena Anrather (New York, NY), Murmurs (Los Angeles, CA), Swivel Gallery, (New York, NY), Yossi Milo (New York, NY), et al. (San Francisco, CA), Hi-Lo Press (Atlanta, GA), and the Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA), among others. His work is in the permanent collection of LACMA (Los Angeles, CA). Jalal has curated group exhibitions at The Hi-Lo Press and the High Rise Exhibition. His zine, A Brief History of the World Vol. 1, was released exclusively at For Keeps Books in 2020.

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