Clifton Henri (American, b. 1979) is a nationally acclaimed, award-winning photographer from Chicago, Illinois. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication from Clark Atlanta University and a Master of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from The Savannah College of Art & Design.

Henri began his professional career as an Art Director for a boutique advertising agency before transitioning into full-time independent artistic practice. He exhibits nationally in galleries and juried art festivals, and his work has entered numerous public and private collections, including a recent first museum acquisition.

Henri’s practice is rooted in identity, underrepresentation, and self-declaration. By focusing intentionally on portraits of Black and Brown people and the environments they live in, he visually narrates the African diaspora using personal experience as fuel.

Much of Henri’s work is driven by his relationship to “belonging”—within community, within America, and within humanity. Influenced by Civil Rights and Harlem Renaissance imagery and the work of photographers such as James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks, and Roy DeCarava, Henri describes his work as autobiographical, or self-portrait in a figurative sense. His images challenge viewers to find themselves—and the poetry—in everyday moments, where human stories are told deliberately through a lens where darker complexions are centered as stars. Ultimately, Henri aims for his photographs to speak in a language of empathy, empowerment, and strength, engaging themes of social justice, cultural currency, and the power of perspective.