Xxavier Edward Carter

Swimming Pools in White Neighborhoods

Acrylic, oil pastel, watercolor, metallic pigment, archival ink

“I describe my work as multisensorial, layered, and meditative. The focal points of my research are ecologies, masculinity, communal practices, race, kinship, material histories, currency, and socio economic/socio political boundaries. My heritage of being Black and Muscogee is reflected through my research and is a point of departure for what I call the revolutionary promise embedded in my work. This promise is an assessment of how we consider history and an action towards possible futures in a more equitable world.”

— Xxavier Edward Carter

About the artist

Xxavier Edward Carter

American

Xxavier Edward Carter (b. 1986) was born in Dallas, Texas. Over 12 years of compulsory education, Xxavier attended 8 schools. The eldest child of professional athlete (Russell Carter) and saleswoman (Melody Missick), embodiment and communication were foundational to his upbringing as well as flexibility in new environments. Xxavier attended Stanford University on a football scholarship, receiving a BA in Studio Art after studying Political Science and English. After 7 years of art world immersion Xxavier returned to Dallas to receive his MFA from Southern Methodist University, the alma mater of his father. Xxavier was a recipient of the Arch and Anne Giles artist award from the Dallas Museum of Art in 2011. Xxavier was a fellow at the Yerba Buena Center for the arts in 2016. In 2020 the Nasher Sculpture Center acquired artwork from Xxavier followed by an acquisition by the Dallas Museum of Art in 2022. Xxavier is also a poet with several published novels, poetry books, and academic texts. Xxavier has been a part of residencies in Vietnam, South Korea, Spain, Morocco, Mexico, France, and England. Xxavier has shown a commitment to the concepts of returns, community, ecology, humanity, abstraction, and poetry. His career has been established through travel and the intimate connections made through sharing his artwork and telling his story and the philosophies that have molded his practice. He is currently the Head Artist and Engineer of Goldfish Dreams, an artistic publication and production house based in Dallas, Texas.