Parliament Funkadelic’s George Clinton Showcases Visual Arts at Mariane Ibrahim

Talents tend to come in clusters, and such is the case with George Clinton. Aside from being the legendary leader of Parliament Funkadelic, he is represented as a visual artist by Mariane Ibrahim Gallery, where his show, “Mothership,” premiered on July 25. The exhibit features Clinton’s vivid paintings, a central metal spaceship that echoes the much larger one that Clinton performed with onstage, and archival materials linked to the album Mothership, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. “Mothership” is the man also known as Dr. Funkenstein’s first solo show with the gallery.

Clinton is an essential founding voice in Afrofuturism, a movement and aesthetic that has birthed popular works from the wildly stunning set design in the movie Black Panther to novels by Octavia Butler to Janelle Monáe’s Metropolis Saga conceptual album cycle. In addition to music, Clinton has been creating art across a variety of media since the early 70’s, using spray paint, text, collage, drawing, sculpture, and more to express his psychedelic vision in tandem with the music. A shocking element for those who did not know: George Clinton is colorblind. He has given outrageous chromaticity to the world despite being unable to see his own work as the viewer sees it.

Canvases in the show prominently feature flying saucer-like motifs in palettes incorporating electric yellow, gradations of sky blue, burnt orange, and occasional pastels. Interestingly, the UFO shape that emerges at first glance may mutate into organisms, faces, masks, and other objects. The artworks on view at Ibrahim preserve the improvisation, humor, and energy of the Mothership while allowing it to function independently of its familiar moorings. Above all, the show succeeds in a key thesis: that the Mothership was more than a stage prop. It was a world unto itself.

“George Clinton: Mothership” is on view at Mariane Ibrahim Gallery in Chicago July 26–September 5.