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“My Support System” by Destiny Dixon / Destiny Ari’e (American) - Acrylic on canvas / 2023 - Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (Cedar Rapids, Iowa) #WomenInArt #WomensArt #WomanArtist #WomenArtists #DestinyDixon #DestinyArie #artText #CedarRapidsMuseumOfArt #CRMA #ContemporaryArt #BlackArt #BlackArtist
A close-up portrait shows a young Black woman with deep brown skin held in a full-body embrace. Her eyes are softly closed, her lips gently upturned, and her face looks calm, relieved, and safe. A white headband with bold black spots is tied into an oversized bow at the top of her head and her hair is pulled back so her brow, cheekbones, and an ear are visible. Her hands rest across the embrace holding on to the person supporting her. The second figure with her back to us hugs the woman back. She wears a soft hoodie painted in sweeping cool blues, pinks, and yellow and has her dark blond hair in a bun. Their bodies press together closely, creating a sense of warmth and steadiness rather than a sharply defined portrait of two individuals. Behind them, layered greens and olive tones form an abstract background with visible brushwork and softened edges, keeping the scene private and intimate. The title names what the image is doing: support is physical, emotional, and built through presence. By letting the second figure remain partly anonymous and a more sheltering shape than detailed identity, American artist Destiny Dixon (Destiny Ari’e) makes the embrace feel both personal and widely recognizable, like a moment that could belong to many kinds of relationships (partner, friend, family, or even chosen family). The closed eyes matter as they shift the focus from being seen to being cared for and from performance to rest. In her own words, Dixin describes an artistic intention rooted in “nostalgia, tranquility, and beauty,” and she connects her practice to finding serenity and building confidence through making. She also frames her work as capturing life’s meaningful moments like small refuges inside complexity. Read through that lens, “My Support System” becomes a quiet statement of power with tenderness as shelter, and care as something you can lean into without apology.
March 3, 2026 at 12:50 PM