Antjuan Oden is considered one of the brightest talents of the next generation of self-taught artists. Creating with the same intensity and compulsion as many of the African-American vernacular artists of the South, Antjuan incorporates a modern awareness and urban iconography into his widely varied works. Over the last few months, Antjuan has established a new lexicon of imagery to work with that you may see often in these new paintings; a birdcage, a lotus plant, missiles, horses and elephants. This body of work also showcases Antjuan's painting style, and promises that his new work will be heading in exciting new directions.

While in prison, with no access to art supplies, Antjuan still completed nearly 200 works. Of these, 75 tiny paintings were completed with tissue paper as brushes and coffee as paint, using scraps of paper salvaged from prison regulation sheets and drink mix sachets as his canvas. It is this body of work that exemplifies the commitment to create that resides inside Antjuan.

"I have to paint. I can't stop - it's ridiculous!" - Antjuan Oden, July 1998