FSA is pleased to welcome Genesis Tramaine to its Artist-in-Residence Program in Charleston, SC this Fall (September 25–November 6, 2025). Tramaine (b. 1983) is a self-taught artist who is known for her striking expressionist portraits, many of which depict subjects inspired by her Christian faith. The style of her paintings is rooted in a strong mix of 1980’s urban New York graffiti and visualized gospel hymns. Tramaine considers her portraits—which depict Black faces in myriad ways—to function much like gospel hymns, forms of praise that can uplift viewers and intensify spiritual connections. Prayer and gospel music are, in fact, an integral part of Tramaine’s studio practice. Through them, she allows herself to become a vessel, receiving the images that she then develops into large-scale portraits. Tramaine is outspoken about her faith. The edges of her canvases often feature short sermon-like phrases while the material descriptions of her work include such words as “Yeshua”—the Hebrew name for Jesus—or “Holy Spirit” in addition to the physical media. According to the artist, “It’s not my hand alone that delivers the work….Without Yeshua, it’s just paint.”

While Tramaine’s art is founded in spiritual practice, it is also shaped by her personal history and her experience as a self-defined “queer devotional painter.” Her mature work, which is influenced by Bible verses and other church readings, evolved from a childhood practice of sketching in hymn books and bibles while attending church services. Her abstract portraits of Black subjects—which are meant to transcend race, gender, and class—reflect a keen social and political awareness. Through shape, definition, color, exaggerated features, and multiple perspectives, Tramaine attempts to capture the spirit of an underrepresented population. By depicting Christian subjects, especially, with Black faces, she also questions the history of representation itself. Narrative is just as important as color, line, and form in Tramaine’s work. The artist studies and absorbs the details of various biblical stories and characters and, when putting them to canvas, finds ways to visually translate such emotions as fear, love, judgment, acceptance or non-acceptance. These she offers to viewers as models of perseverance, inspiration, fortitude, and encouragement. In Charleston, Tramaine will continue her portrait work while exploring her drawing practice which, for many years, has constituted an intensely private, yet spiritually sustaining, activity for the artist.