Deborah Roberts

Born in 1962 in Austin, Texas. Lives and works in Austin, Texas.

Combining collage and mixed media, Deborah Roberts' figurative works depict the complexity of the Black subjecthood and explore themes of race, identity and gender politics.
Roberts' use of collage reflects the challenges faced by young Black children in constructing their identities, particularly as they respond to preconceived social constructs perpetuated by the Black community, the white gaze, and visual culture as a whole. By combining different facial features, skin tones, hairstyles, and clothing, Roberts explains that "with collage, I can create a broader and more inclusive view of the Black cultural experience."

Roberts has participated in numerous group projects in the United States and the United Kingdom. Her work is included in major collections such as the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington DC; Los Angeles County Museum of Art, California; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts; Pérez Art Museum Miami, Florida; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, California; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.