How does a self-taught artist from West Africa get his work showcased on the hit TV drama EMPIRE?
Meet Michel Delgado, a visionary artist whose unlikely journey inspires anyone who dreams of bigger and better things.
Born in Senegal’s seaport capital of Dakar, Michel Delgado started his career as a young boy. Brimming with art, culture, music, and dance, the city of Dakar was a major launching pad for many African artists, including Delgado.
Enraptured by the vibrancy of Dakar’s iconic African fabrics, the fourteen-year-old Delgado began creating loud, colorful cloth bags painted with his original artwork.
Unfortunately, making a living as an artist in Dakar proved next to impossible. So, like many others before him, the aspiring young artist moved to Paris. Immersing himself in the local art scene, his new works exploded with intense colors, crisply painted shapes, and meticulous details conjured through the lens of his life in Dakar.
In 1988, Delgado emigrated to the United States, eventually landing in Key West where his work was an immediate hit.
Today, the internationally celebrated and award-winning artist is regaled for his daring, bold, and bright works that literally jump off the canvas. Taken individually, each one of his paintings is fresh and compelling. Shown together, the prolificacy is all-encompassing.
His impressive body of work is now being snapped up by many private collectors and is regularly exhibited at museums and galleries throughout the nation.
And that brings us back to the American music drama, EMPIRE. As luck would have it, one of Delgado’s patrons was a stylist for the hit show. Because of that connection, his paintings, along with works by iconic artist Andy Warhol and other famous masters, became part of a staged art collection belonging to the show’s main protagonist, “Lucious Lyon.” That unlikely break forever changed the trajectory of Delgado’s career.
A recent recipient of the 2024 prestigious Gottlieb Foundation Individual Support Grant, Michel Delgado will reveal his new collection of abstract paintings at Key West’s acclaimed Jag Gallery. The exhibit, entitled “Agitated Curiosity,” opens with a special reception on December 1 from 5:30 – 7:30 pm and continues through December 29 every Tu – Su from Noon – 5 pm. You can find Jag Gallery at 1075 Duval St in Duval Square. Info: 305-407-6202; jaggallery.art.
