Sylvanus Finney

For me, the journey of the canvas is a migration of the soul. I was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone, and raised amidst the vibrant cultural landscapes of West Africa and London before eventually settling in the United States. Today, as a multidisciplinary visual artist working across painting, photography, and filmmaking, my practice is a rich tapestry woven from global experience, ancestral roots, and a deep commitment to social justice.

My artistic origin began in the world of pen and pencil sketching, but I quickly realized that the stories I was destined to tell required the life, depth, and unapologetic voice of color. Though I am largely self-taught, a pivotal oil painting class in college transformed my trajectory, pulling me away from the constraints of graphite and into the visceral world of oil on canvas. This evolution allowed me to merge my cinematic eye for dramatic lighting and bold silhouettes with a raw, hands-on approach to visual storytelling.
I treat paint as a physical weight, using palette knives to build thick, sculptural impasto textures upon rough canvas surfaces. This highly tactile approach mirrors the strength of the African forms I depict—celebrating heritage not just as a history, but as a living, breat...

MA, Counseling Psychology — Expressive Arts Therapy
BA, Communications - Social Justice

* **2026:** Exhibit A
* **2025:** Other Art Fair LA Spring/Fall
* **2025:** Black Boy Art Fair
* **2022:** Leimert Art Festival
* **2021:** Costa Mesa Arts
* **2020:** NAACP Monterey Chapter
* **2018–2019:** TrapXArt