On View: See Images From ‘Sanford Biggers: Codeswitch,’ First Survey of Artist’s Quilt-Based Works at California African American Museum in Los Angeles
“Bonsai” (2016) by Sanford Biggers On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions WORKING WITH ANTIQUE, pre-1900 quilts, Sanford Biggers makes mixed-media works that present as painted textiles and sculptural installations. The quilt-based works are inspired by the modern and contemporary artistry of the Black women who have been making quilts in Gee’s Bend,...
Cleveland Museum of Art Promotes Key Jo Lee to Associate Curator: ‘It Has Been an Honor and Joy to Witness Key Jo’s Evolution as Museum Professional’
THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART (CMA) is elevating Key Jo Lee to associate curator of American art. The news was announced Jan. 18. Lee joined CMA in 2017 as assistant director of academic affairs. In 2021, she was appointed director of academic affairs and associate curator of special projects. Her latest promotion is effective July...
On View: See Images From Studio Museum in Harlem’s Artists-in-Residence Exhibition Featuring Widline Cadet, Jacolby Satterwhite, Texas Isaiah, and Genesis Jerez at MoMA PS1
“Jiskaske Enfinite Vini Nan Yon Fen (Until Infinity Comes To An End)” (2021) by Widline Cade On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A GROUP EXHIBITION at MoMA PS1, “(Never) As I Was” presents new works by the Studio Museum in Harlem’s 2020-21 artists-in-residence: Widline Cadet, Texas Isaiah, Genesis Jerez, and Jacolby Satterwhite....
Remembering Martin Luther King Jr.: Illustrator Ronald Wimberly’s First New Yorker Cover is Inspired by Storied Civil Rights Photograph
THE TRANSFORMATIONAL civil rights, human rights, and democracy work of Martin Luther King Jr., was largely understood and represented by public events—soaring and poignant speeches, strategic marches and protests, and multiple arrests. On Sept. 3, 1958, King was arrested outside the courthouse in Montgomery, Ala. Illustrated by Ronald Wimberly, the moment is captured on...
Latest News in Black Art: Georgia Museum Honoring Lou Stovall, Edmonia Lewis Gets Postage Stamp, Steve Locke Now Repped by Alexander Gray & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Lou Stovall in the printmaking studio he established adjacent to his Cleveland Park home (1974). | Courtesy Lou Stovall Workshop Awards & Honors Artist and master printer Lou Stovall is receiving the Larry D....
Longing: New Paintings by Peter Uka Channel Fond Memories of Nigeria, ‘This for Me is a Moment in Time. A Time When All Was Well, All Was Good’
“Beach Life” (2021) by Peter Uka FOR HIS FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION in the United States, Peter Uka is presenting seven new figurative paintings. On view at Mariane Ibrahim in Chicago, “Peter Uka: Longing” channels 1970s nostalgia and memories of growing up in Nigeria. Uka portrays men wearing bell bottoms at the beach, the barbershop,...
Lives: A Look Back at Notable Artists and Designers Who Died in 2021, From Peter Williams, Judson Powell, and Winfred Rembert to Virgil Abloh
BLACK ARTISTS representing multiple generations and disciplines died in 2021, including Virgil Abloh, Winfred Rembert, Donald P. Ryder, Chi Modu, and Peter Williams. Figures such as Judson Powell of Los Angeles, Eugene Wade of Chicago, Charles McGee of Detroit, and Denzil Hurley of Seattle, Wash., who were well-known locally and deserve wider attention, also...
Meagan Burger Joins California’s Orange County Museum of Art as Director of Learning and Engagement
AS IT PREPARES TO WELCOME the public to a new building later this year, the Orange County Museum of Art (OCMA) announced two new appointments today. Courtenay Finn is joining the Southern California museum as chief curator in March. She is currently chief curator at the Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland. Meagan Burger is serving...
Henone K. Girma: Newark Museum of Art Names New Curator of Arts of Global Africa
THE NEWARK MUSEUM OF ART is starting off the new year by welcoming a new member to its curatorial team. Henone K. Girma has been named associate curator of the Arts of Global Africa. Girma joins the Newark Museum of Art in New Jersey from The Africa Center in Harlem, where she served as programs...
On the Rise: 69 Museum Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on Notable New Appointments in 2021
FIVE YEARS AGO, Culture Type began reporting on new appointments of Black curators, primarily in museums. The first review in 2016 was prompted by findings from the Mellon Foundation (2015) that showed American museums employed very few Black people in positions that shape them in terms of their management and intellectual direction as institutions...
Archive of James Van Der Zee, ‘One of the Nation’s Most Important Picture Makers,’ Headed to Metropolitan Museum of Art in Partnership With Studio Museum in Harlem
WEDDINGS, FUNERALS, PARADES, CHRISTMAS SCENES, and all manner of portraits. The photographs of James Van Der Zee (1886-1983) have come to define 20th century Harlem. His powerful pictures capture the beauty and pride of Black life, documenting everyday moments and special celebrations. His subjects were cosmopolitan Black families, artists, and political leaders—Adam Clayton Powell...
Michael Ray Charles: 20 Years Ago His Potent Images Confronting Racial Stereotypes Were Highly Controversial, Today They Feel Ripe for the Times
TWENTY YEARS AGO, Michael Ray Charles was a rare quantity—a Black contemporary artist with mainstream recognition. His potent and thought-provoking work explored African American representation in popular culture, employed blackface and caricature to confront racial stereotypes, and presented complex images aimed directly at America’s shameful history of slavery, subjugation, racial violence, and white supremacy....
Crystal Williams Appointed President of Rhode Island School of Design: ‘She Has the Expertise and Qualities of Leadership Needed to Meet the Urgency of This Moment and Take RISD Into the Future’
Incoming RISD President Crystal Williams. | Photo by Jo Sittenfeld THE NEXT PRESIDENT of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) is Crystal Williams. The school’s board of trustees announced the news this morning. A professor, poet, and diversity advocate, Williams brings more than two decades of higher education experience to RISD. She currently...
Latest News in Black Art: Eric Pryor Named President of Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Jarrell Gibbs Painted Portrait of Late Congressman Elijah Cummings & More
Latest News in Black Art features news updates and developments in the world of art and related culture Dec. 8, 2021: At PAFA, incoming president Eric Pryor is flanked by paintings by John Neagle (“Pat Lyon at the Forge,” 1829) and Kehinde Wiley (Three Wise Men Greeting Entry into Lagos,” 2008). | Courtesy...
Greg Tate (1957-2021): Cultural Critic Who Made His Name Writing About Hip Hop, Was Equally Attuned to Visual Art
CULTURAL CRITIC AND MUSICIAN Greg Tate (1957-2021) died Dec. 7 in New York. He was 64. Widely renowned and beloved, Tate wrote with a singular style and insight about music, art, and culture at-large. In the 1970s, he worked at Just Above Midtown Gallery in New York, the storied gathering place and exhibition space...
On View: See Images From ‘Whitfield Lovell: Le Rouge et Le Noir,’ an Exhibition of New Works at DC Moore Gallery in New York City
“Because I Wanna Fly” (2021) by Whitfield Lovell On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions EMOTIONAL AND EVOCATIVE, Whitfield Lovell‘s work draws on memory and metaphor. His source images are found photographs of anonymous African Americans dating from emancipation to the civil rights era. He explores the Black experience by connecting past lives...
