The enigmatic and celebrated contemporary American artist, 82-year-old David Hammons, was born in Springfield, Illinois in 1943 before relocating to Los Angeles in 1963 to pursue his studies at institutions including the Chouinard Art Institute. A notable early influence was the artist and activist Charles White. Hammons emerged as a prominent figure in the 1960s art world with his celebrated body prints, which reconceptualized printmaking by using his own grease-smeared body as a printing plate to create politically charged representations of the Black male form. In 1974, he relocated to New York, where he has continued to live and work. Throughout his career, Hammons has explored issues of race, identity, and sociopolitical themes, often drawing from his personal experiences as a Black man in America. Renowned for his unconventional use of materials like human hair, grease, and discarded objects, his work frequently questions the definition of art, paralleling and drawing from movements like Conceptualism, Arte Povera, and Dadaism.

Hammons has received prestigious accolades, including Guggenheim and MacArthur fellowships and the Prix de Rome. His groundbreaking contributions are recognized through major museum collections, including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, solidifying his place as a pivotal figure in contemporary art.