THE BEAUTY WE CARRY I by Faith Gbadero
Explore Mondoir Studio
Medium: Oil & Acrylic on canvas
Dimensions: 30 x 36 in
Year: 2026
Price: $2600.00 USD
Status: available
This piece begins a new body of work that asks a simple question: What if becoming never required us to leave ourselves behind? For me, growth should never come at the cost of identity. This series celebrates Black people who embrace who they are while continuing to evolve. Our skin, our hair, our values, our identies, our cultural heritages and our stories are not things to outgrow, they are part of what shapes us. The woman in this painting doesn't seek permission to take up space. She simply does. Surrounded by flowers and mountains, she stands as a reminder that becoming isn't about changing who you are,it's about growing into yourself with confidence. Because the most beautiful kind of becoming is the one that doesn't erase where you come from.
Why collect this work?
A tilted head beneath a sharply squared hairstyle turns a frontal portrait into a study of self-possession, balancing composure with deliberate visual tension.
- Gbadero states that the series considers growth without erasing identity. Here, that intention is carried by a sitter whose direct presence remains distinct from the landscape and flowers around her.
- The figure fills most of the composition, while overlapping mountain-like silhouettes compress the background. Small flowers gather near the lower edges, setting their delicate scale against the monumental head and torso.
- The documented oil and acrylic on canvas allow different kinds of painted density. In the photograph, the garment reads as a bright, continuous field, while highlights articulate the face, earrings, and folds without breaking the strong silhouette.
- As the first work in a stated new body of work, this 2026 painting provides a concrete starting point for examining how contemporary portraiture can connect personal growth with the retention of cultural identity.
About the Artist
Faith Gbadero
Faith Gbadero is an artist on Mondoir Studio. Artistic discipline: painting. Based in Ogbomoso, NG.
Nationality: Nigerian
My art is driven by a desire to understand and express the human experience through layered narratives of identity, connection, memory, and becoming.
