Sunny

Kate Citrin’s portraits lionize people radicalizing empathy, creativity and bravery. Her focus on the unseen & unfairly distributed labor of women and marginalized people is shown by layering traditional portraiture with abstracted forms. Portraiture is a self-promotional tool of the elite, aggrandizing themselves and their work. In the same way, Kate promotes unsung heroes in her traditional oil portraits. She then adds spray paints, pattern, and abstraction to highlight their work. With these portraits Kate reframes this labor as essential – foundational – to our society.  

This portrait praises Sunny, a burlesquer, dancer, and model who shares her creativity and vulnerability to support others. Her time as a strip club dancer was formative to the glowing light of the femme & Black community that inspired her chosen name. It made her a stronger person, teaching her responsibility, self-love, and business acumen. She now shares all of these qualities, helping others to be effective communicators, see their own beauty, and develop resilience.