XPayne’s fingerprints are all over Nashville’s visual identity, from Slim & Husky’s to billboards he’s created celebrating Black culture. But it was in 2022 that he took over Nashville’s art galleries as well. He started the year strong, with four brightly outlined, sensually posed bodies in the Scene’s own Drawers exhibition, which took place at OZ Arts in May. But it wasn’t until August, when XPayne followed legendary Parliament-Funkadelic frontman George Clinton with a solo show at Cëcret by Cë Gallery, that the full extent of his creative capacity really shone. Past, Present, and Afrofuturism gave the prolific artist a platform to express himself through instantly iconic figures that referenced Yoruba mythology through a totally relevant and contemporary lens. “This is about using culture and history to imagine an unseen and prosperous future,” XPayne said of the show. “Imagining how the future looks provides mental armor for the now. This show is about adaptation and change in the face of danger.”
