Xavier Daniels remained in specialized schools for art throughout his primary and secondary education, received multiple college scholarships for artistic studies, and attended Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). His desire for a liberal arts education and culture led him to transfer to Morehouse College in Atlanta. After graduating with a Bachelors in Art from Morehouse, Daniels became a firefighter, but he continued to create, painting commissioned art. He received a Masters from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). Eventually, he left firefighting upon deciding to fully dedicate himself to his art practice and his teaching career at Atlanta Technical College.

Daniels’ paintings are influenced by his experiences with brotherhood at both Morehouse and as a firefighter. He paints black male figures to create dialogue concerning issues like black men face. According to Daniels, the conversations happening in popular culture about black males leave them invisible in discussions about themselves. The portraits of black men Daniels creates are large in an effort to symbolically assert black male presence into those conversations.   

In creating his art, he is actively thinking about the perception of black men and attempting to be a catalyst for a different view on the black male experience. Using fashion and the avant-garde as inspiration, Daniels allows his models to strike poses that are not typical of black men. Viewing black men in this way makes them vulnerable to the artist’s brushstrokes and the viewer’s eye. The calm, poised, and comfortable expressions on the subjects’ faces allude to the inner life of black men as susceptible to humanity as much as any other people.

Daniels paints with a traditional realist technique, blending textures giving his paintings a sensation that feeds into his first-hand perception as a black male. The quality is reminiscent of Renaissance paintings with the melding of flesh tones and bursts of pastel color. While his work is figurative, he incorporates abstract shapes and color psychology building complexity within the message in his art. Each work is fresh with intuitive brushstrokes and organic shapes, painting with traditional technique and exploring with paint on canvas, allowing each work to be fully realized in a natural and spirited process for Daniels.

His work has been shown around the world through Almine Rech and Richard Beavers Gallery.

Xavier lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.