Ebony G. Patterson

Ms. Patterson is a multimedia artist who explores social issues, including race, class and gender, through a female lens. Her artworks, which often weave intricate patterns, jacquard photo tapestries and glitter, are prominently featured in the current season of the TV show “Empire.” “The works are not just background,” she said. “They really become a part of the conversation within the show.”In 2009, Ms. Patterson took part in Next Art Chicago, a now-defunct fair that supported emerging artists. Her “Gangstas for Life” portraits, which depict men in the Jamaican dance-hall scene with floral motifs, bleached skin and red lipstick as a way of challenging notions about homosexuality and beauty, caught the attention of the Monique Meloche Gallery in Chicago, which became the first major gallery to represent her. “Around that time, there seemed to be a growing interest in what was happening in the Caribbean,” Ms. Patterson said. “The work at the time was also exploring ideas around gender and masculinity, and how all of that was playing out in popular culture.”