Deborah Roberts

Smooth Spot

- Charles Moore

By third grade, Deborah Roberts knew she’d be an artist. What she couldn’t anticipate was that she would become a household name by exploring themes of race, gender identity, and what it means to be vulnerable as a Black person in America. Early in her career, when Roberts worked primarily on paper rather than canvas, she showcased small paintings and drawings depicting Black Americana—those elements of daily life from which the media had largely moved away. Through her works, she shouted, “This is who we are!”

The artist earned her MFA from Syracuse University in the mid-2000s, and it was around that time that her work began to undergo a shift. Roberts embarked on a journey of scholarship, one in which she set out to break down stereotypes: to deconstruct the trope of the out-of-control Black man, the over-sexualized Black woman, or the adultified Black child. These stereotypes, the artist found, had become a currency of sorts—yet the world she inhabited was far more nuanced. From there, she began tackling colorism, seeking to shed light on the beauty of the Black experience in America. The outcome is calming, visually stunning, and effective at breaking down stereotypes. Those “smooth spots,” according to Roberts, which represent the beauty of the Black experience, deserve more attention.