If you’ve ever found yourself on the East side of Detroit, possibly in the East Canfield Village neighborhood then maybe you’ve seen it—a simple, captivating statue of a young boy delicately holding and looking onto a flower. He sits cross-legged and shirtless as he overlooks the park, newly opened last year.
“Boy Holds Flower” is the product of sculpture artist and Detroit native Austen Brantley, whose work explores identity, unrepentant Blackness and the nuances of masculinity and femininity. Brantley admits that, while his purpose in creating stems from the need to bring art to his community and give representation outside of higher institutions, he’s fine going without the recognition. His art is, as he states, “quiet.” He isn’t here to make a statement but open minds, and above all hearts, to the beauty that is often created from trauma.
“You have to be willing to open your heart to even look at my work. And I think that’s really important for me. The pieces are a pillar of culture; that’s what I see them as. I get to create and fabricate culture and put it in front of people,” Austen Brantley shared with THE BLOCK.
Having worked as a sculpture artist for over 11 years, Austen is no longer struggling to find his niche or a concept—it comes naturally. Austen’s creations often depict Blackness both national and globally, intermingling with one another as he explores identity throughout the diaspora. With no prestigious degree or rigorous fine art schooling, he’s had to find his own footing in the realm of art. Taking interest in the Renaissance and the Baroque period, he draws inspiration from his own life and upbringing in Detroit, often crediting his mother for his earliest lessons.
“My mom was an artist. I would see her drawing all the time and creating ideas. And I definitely think my mom inspires a lot of my audacity that I have to even be an artist,” Austen explained, adding that it was his ceramics teacher who “poured all of his passion and teaching into me.”
“I think that’s what made me a sculptor,” Austen continued.
No longer a student but a master at his craft, Austen has exhibited his work across the U.S. from Grand Rapids in 2014 to Chicago’s Harlem Fine Arts Show in 2016, leading up to his exhibit at Northwest Gallery of Art in 2021 to his most recent showcase at the Madison Wisconsin Technical College Exhibition in 2022. A seasoned artisan whose well of creativity never runs dry, all because of his curiosity in self.
A lot of my work [is] about identity. because i don’t feel like i always have one. i always feel like i’m creating one.
austen brantley
“In my artwork, it’s to be seen that there are African masks and African artifacts, and a lot of it is intertwined with different sculptures that are trying to understand them. When we’re born in this world, the first thing that we’re labeled is an African American. And a lot of us don’t know much about Africa. It’s such a big continent, and there’s so many different tribes, different people [and] different cultures there. It’s a big thing to try and understand. And to know there’s a part of you that’s from there that you’re not connected with, that’s something huge,” Austen continued.
Through the dissection of his own identity, Austen is able to identify the pieces of his trauma that manifest in his art.
“A lot of my concepts have to do with traumas that have been in my life that I reflect on, and I want to go back and turn them into something beautiful. I think that’s all black people have done their entire existence in America. Turning something terrible, into something beautiful,” he said.
Surreal and maybe even somber, Austen’s trauma doesn’t go unchecked. As he tackles his personal upheavals from childhood and teenaged angst to adulthood, he’s always sure to meet himself halfway with grace. Something he learned, again, from his mother.
“That’s why my mom is so influential in my work and in my life. I learned grace from her. That’s how I approach everything in my life. Gentleness and sensitivity are things that have to go into my artwork to create a lot of these pieces.”
Austen adds that his approach to gender within his work is hyper-present even in the way he handles his materials. Claiming with clay, he uses a gentle hand in sculpting and manipulating the material to bend and move as he wishes. Throughout his work, women with hard exteriors give off a demeanor of strength in vitality, while the men—and even the boys—take on an element of softness.
Ultimately, he’s here to create something emotionally evocative, and in the process, help carve out a spot for Detroit artists along the way.
“Being a Detroit artist, being an artist in general, is an uphill battle and you’re always fighting. It’s like a war. Being an artist is a very powerful thing [and] I’d love people to know how hard Detroit artists work to be Detroit artists,” Austen said.
Reclaiming identity, welcoming himself into gentle spaces where nuance is king and queen, Austen Brantley is an artist worth keeping an eye on. Or at least an open heart to.
Keep up with Austen’s work on Instagram.
