Installation view of “Jack Whitten: The Messenger,” Museum of Modern Art, New York, N.Y. (March 23-Aug. 2, 2025). | Photo: Jonathan Dorado, Courtesy MoMA On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions KNOWN FOR HIS INVENTIVE METHODS, Jack Whitten (1939-2018) constantly evolved his materials and techniques. Exploring the possibilities of paint, he made casts...
Brittany Webb. | Photo by Marco Hill, Courtesy MFAH THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS, HOUSTON (MFAH) announced the appointment of Brittany Webb to the role of curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art. Webb is joining MFAH from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia, where she is the...
International curator Koyo Kouoh died, longstanding Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden fired, artist and curator Evangeline J. Montgomery died, David C. Driskell Prize went to artist Alison Saar Artist and Curator Evangeline J. Montgomery (1930-2025). | Courtesy the artist, Photo by Erwin Thamm LIVES | May 1: Artist, curator, and arts administrator Evangeline...
ARTIST HENRY TAYLOR IN LOUIS VUITTON. | For Vogue’s special Met Gala issue, Henry Taylor painted a cover portrait of Met Gala Co-Chair Pharrell Williams, men’s creative director at Louis Vuitton. The exhibition “James Jarvaise & Henry Taylor: Sometimes a Straight Line Has to Be Crooked” opens at Hauser & Wirth in Downtown Los Angeles...
Judia S. Jackson. | Courtesy Barnes Foundation IN PHILADELPHIA, PA., the Barnes Foundation named Judia S. Jackson to the role of deputy director for human resources and chief culture officer. Jackson recently served as chief people and culture officer at Philadelphia Orchestra and Ensemble Arts. The Barnes appointment was announced May 28. Jackson officially...
Malcolm X reading an article about the Nation of Islam written and photographed by Gordon Parks that was published in the May 31, 1963, edition of Life magazine. The man behind Malcolm holds a newspaper reporting on the shooting of seven unarmed Black men by Los Angeles police. | Photo: Robert Flora/Corbis MALCOLM X...
Charles Thomas Lewis, grand nephew of Alma Thomas, with Susan Talley, who established the Friends of Alma Thomas group more than a decade ago. They are holding the commemorative street sign DC Councilmember Christina Henderson presented to Lewis. “I think this is a wonderful recognition for her,” he said. “I am truly thankful for this.”...
Installation view of “vanessa german: GUMBALL—there is absolutely no space between body and soul,” Kasmin, 509 West 27th Street, New York, N.Y. (April 3-May 10, 2025). | Courtesy the artist and Kasmin, New York On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE LATEST EXHIBITION of vanessa german (b. 1976) presented two new mixed-media...
Alison Saar at Arion Press, San Francisco, Calif., 2024. | Courtesy of L.A. Louver, Venice, Calif., Photograph by Nicholas Lea Bruno TWENTY YEARS AGO, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Ga., established a groundbreaking prize named for David C. Driskell (1931-2020), a pivotal figure in American art and leading authority on African American...
The making of Vogue’s Met issue is documented in a behind-the-scenes video. The cover shoots are highlighted and scenes from Tyler Mitchell photographing his 28-page dandy-style suiting portfolio are captured, along with commentary from the many participating models, artists, and cultural figures. | Video by Vogue BLACK DANDYISM is an idea and potent style...
THE AWE-INSPIRING poetry of Langston Hughes informed a floral abstract painting with a rich and varied blue background by Lindsay Adams (b. 1990). “Weary Blues” shares the title of the Harlem poet’s iconic 1925 work. The poem speaks of the transformative power of blues music. Employing his signature simple and accessible language, Hughes recalls hearing...
RENE MATIĆ, Installation view of “Untitled (No Place for Violence),” 2024, “AS OPPOSED TO THE TRUTH,” CCA Berlin (2024).| Photo: Diana Pfammatter/CCA Berlin A LARGE-SCALE FLAG by British artist Rene Matić (b. 1997) features the words “No Place” on one side and “For Violence” on the reverse. The flag and its seemingly simplified message...
IN LOUISVILLE, KY, the Speed Art Museum is welcoming Diallo Simon-Ponte as the inaugural Sam Gilliam Assistant Curator of Artist Programs. A writer and curator, Simon-Ponte will lead the Speed Museum’s new Sam Gilliam Visiting Artist Program. Bringing artist engagement and exhibition management experience to the role, he officially starts in May. “I am honored...
Installation view of “Alberta Whittle: Towards a m̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶f̶u̶l̶ loving praxis, we cast seeds into the darkness,” Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York, N.Y. (March 6-April 19, 2025). | © Alberta Whittle. Courtesy the artist and Nicola Vassell Gallery. Photo: Lance Brewer On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE LATEST EXHIBITION OF Alberta Whittle...
IN NEW YORK CITY, Jack Shainman Gallery announced its exclusive representation of the Estate of Faith Ringgold and the Anyone Can Fly Foundation. Faith Ringgold (1930-2024) was a profound and pivotal figure in the New York art world. Her art offered sharp commentary on America’s ills and her activism led to historic change and opportunities...
ROBERT CARTER, “Growth,” circa 1980 (acrylic, pencil, advertisements, and paper mounted on wood panel, 32 1/2 x 68 inches / 82.5 x 172.7 cm). | © Robert Carter, Courtesy ACA Galleries, NY On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions BRINGING TOGETHER the works of two artists engaged with figure composition, “Robert Carter and...
Director of Smithsonian’s African American Museum stepped down, antiquities dealer Leonardo Patterson died, Estate of Faith Ringgold and Brazilian artist Dalton Paula join new galleries **THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED THROUGH THE END OF THE MONTH** AWARDS & HONORS | April 2: Sheela Gowda received the 2025 Sam Gilliam Award. The Dia...
Rashid Johnson talks about his Soul Paintings and participation in the Now issue of Harper’s Bazaar. He begins by stating the following: “I’ve always been interested in the idea of now or nowness… the idea of timelessness, I think is also really essential. So when you get to marry the two spaces, when you marry...
VERONICA RYAN, “Infection VII (Punnet I),” 2020 (dyed thread doily, stacked cardboard mushroom boxes, stone casts, 5 7/8 x 19 3/4 x 19 3/4 inches / 15 x 50 x 50 cm). | © Veronica Ryan, OBE RA, Courtesy Paula Cooper Gallery, New York. Photo: Steven Probert ‘I’m really interested in contradiction and paradox...
Nona Faustine (1977-2025). | Photo by Grace Roselli and Pandora’s BoxX Project, Courtesy the artist “I turned the lens on myself,… because I felt that the lives of Black women get very little exposure.” — Nona Faustine ARTIST AND PHOTOGRAPHER Nona Faustine (1977-2025), whose powerful practice was centered around identity, history, trauma, lineage,...
Picturing Freedom: Exhibition and Pulitzer Prize-Winning Book Shed Light on Harriet Tubman’s Greatest Feat, Liberating More than 700 in Combahee River Raid
Jun 19, 2025
On View: ‘Jack Whitten: The Messenger’ at Museum of Modern Art in New York is First Full Retrospective of Pioneering Artist
Jun 17, 2025
Brittany Webb is Joining Museum of Fine Arts, Houston as Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art: ‘There is A Lot That Attracted Me to the MFAH’
Jun 13, 2025
New York Museums are Showcasing African American Art, Exhibitions Feature Lorna Simpson, Rashid Johnson, Beauford Delaney, Amy Sherald, Black Dandyism & More
Jun 11, 2025
Culture Type | The Month in Black Art: Here’s What Happened in May 2025
Jun 8, 2025
