Dan's Cover Artist Halim Flowers Brings the Love to DTR Modern

The featured cover art, “Love Is the Res-o-lu-tion” by Halim Flowers, comes to us from DTR Modern Gallery and marks the artist’s second Dan’s Papers cover to date.

In 1997, a 16-year-old Flowers was arrested and wrongfully sentenced to 40 years incarceration — an experience that was publicized through HBO’s Emmy-winning documentary Thug Life in D.C. While behind bars, he found himself desperate for a creative outlet and turned to freestyle rap and then write poetry, founding the SATO (Struggle Against The Odds) Communications publishing company in 2005.

Released in 2019 under a recent D.C. juvenile lifer resentencing law, Flowers’ primary creative outlet continued to shift from poetry to photopoetry to painting. No matter the medium, the theme of love remains at the center of his art.

“Instead of me using my creativity in the interest of politics, race politics, anger or reactionary sentiments, I could do more effective and transcendent work if I created from an intention of love,” he told Dan’s Papers in 2022, adding that the true power of love became evident upon spending 22 years devoid of it. “The way that the penal system is structured in America … is very punitive, very cruel and unusual to the human condition and spirit. It’s devoid of love. … I don’t believe that hate is a real entity, I think it’s just the absence of love.”

Flowers’ TEDx Talk on criminal justice reform and his inclusion in exhibitions like the Museum of Modern Art’s Marking Time: Art in the Age of Mass Incarceration continue to advance his mission to promote love throughout mankind. For these efforts and others, he was featured as a justice ambassador in the 2020 film Halim’s Hope.

We spoke to DTR Modern New York Art Gallery Director Avalon Bellos to learn more about Flowers’ featured “Love Is the Res-o-lu-tion” painting, his evolution as an artist and his upcoming exhibition at the Venice Biennale.

DTR Modern Talks Halim Flowers

What can you tell our readers about this week’s cover art, “Love Is the Res-o-lu-tion” by Halim Flowers?

“Love Is the Res-o-lu-tion” (30″ x 24″) is a work of acrylic and spray paint on canvas created by Halim Flowers in 2023. Love is a key component for the artist. Love is the vaccine, the currency, the economy in which we all begin and end.

How is this week’s cover art representative of the artistic voice and/or the themes explored in Flowers’ portfolio?

Hungry for knowledge, the mind of Flowers is spongelike in its consumption of truth. This piece is a testament to that journey — the manifestation of supreme evolution in a way.

When did DTR Modern’s relationship with Flowers begin, and what stage of his career was he at that time?

DTR Modern has been there from the beginning — upon being released from prison, through the struggle of finding his best form of communication with the world.

How has Flowers developed his art style and evolved as an artist since that time?

Color really comes to mind. Studying his earliest works to now — one can observe the growing intensity and intricacy of his color application. Additionally, the influence of knowledge and history have created works that have depth and stunning narration.

How has Flowers’ status in the art world evolved since DTR Modern began representing him?

Flowers has taken the world by storm. Turning his art into public speaking engagements around the world, residencies and major private collections — all culminating in the Venice Biennale.

What will Flowers showcase at the Venice Biennale?

Halim is very active, and the featured series was created to showcase the highly developed skills of this self-taught artist. The message is an amalgamation of history, society, modernity and futurism.

To shop Halim Flowers’ paintings, visit dtrmodern.com/halim-flowers.