Bisa Butler

Bisa Butler, born Mailissa Yamba Butler in 1973 in Orange, New Jersey, is an American fiber artist and quilter who works in Brooklyn, New York. She creates large-scale fabric portraits built from photographs and sketches, layering colourful textiles including kente cloth, African wax prints, silk, chiffon, lace, leather and vintage denim into life-sized, realistic images often mistaken for paintings. Her portraits celebrate Black life and identity, depicting both everyday people and notable historical figures. Her work is held by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and she created cover portraits for Time magazine's 2020 Person of the Year and 100 Women of the Year issues.