Hailing from Newport News, Virginia, 24-year old Andre’ D Jones, known on Instagram as Andre the Poet is a folk artist to be reckoned with, filling his canvases with stories. And in that sense, his monicker is an appropriate one. 

Though his area is more known for fishing than artistic endeavors, there’s nothing fishy about his abstract portrayal of Black men and women, it’s seriously powerful. 

Jones has been an artist since childhood, but his artistic hub as a college student was his dorm room where he delved into the world of landscapes and nude pieces composed with oil pastels.

Inspired by one of the greatest modern artists, Jean Michel-Basquiat, Jones’ hustle and prolific creation certainly mirrors the young Basquiat who would sell his postcard-sized paintings signed “SAMO” on the subway. 

Jones is, as mentioned above, fascinated by telling stories through his pieces, and in the sweetest sense of the word, he prefers to enter a piece with naive wonder rather than with a formula.  

In a deeply existential sense, Jones wants the viewer to see themselves in his work and to question where they are in reference to his painted scenarios. 

If you’d like to purchase one of Andre the Poet’s works of art, you can reach out to him on Instagram below:

• Instagram