Forthcoming Swann Sale Features Selections by Artists Associated With Los Angeles, Including 5 Paintings by Ernie Barnes
LOS ANGELES was a site of inspiration and productivity for a number of artists represented in the forthcoming African-American Fine Art sale at Swann Auction Galleries in New York. (Originally planned for April 2, the auction was postponed due to COVID-19. Rescheduled for June 4, the sale is online only.) The sale features lots...
Top African American Scholars and Arts Leaders Appointed to New Advisory Council for Johnson Publishing Archive
A CONSORTIUM OF NONPROFITS purchased the Johnson Publishing Archive for $30 million last July. The goal was to safeguard the unparalleled collection for the public benefit. Now a significant next step in the process has been announced. The co-owners have established an advisory council to evaluate and interpret the collection and provide guidance about...
50 Years After His Death, William H. Johnson’s Work is Showcased in Museum Exhibitions and Rare Solo Presentation by Michael Rosenfeld Gallery
ACTIVE FOR ABOUT TWO DECADES, American artist William H. Johnson (1901-1970) made paintings in two distinct styles over the course of his career. Living in Europe from the mid-1920s to 30s, he developed a modern aesthetic making expressive and moody landscapes and later took an interest in folk art and what he called a...
Black-Run Art Spaces Cancel Programming and Announce Closures as Institutions Nationwide Respond to COVID-19
The exhibition galleries at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles remain open to visitors, but public programs are postponed until further notice. CITING SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES from the California Department of Public Health designed “to slow the rate of transmission of COVID-19,” the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles cancelled...
Mississippi Museum of Art Names Ryan N. Dennis Chief Curator and Artistic Director
THE MISSISSIPPI MUSEUM OF ART (MMA) in Jackson, Miss., announced two new curatorial appointments this week. Following a national search, the museum named Ryan N. Dennis, chief curator and artistic director of the Center for Art & Public Exchange (CAPE), and Holly R. Harrison, deputy director for art and programs. Dennis will lead the museum’s...
Marian Goodman Gallery Announced its Representation Tavares Strachan, Whose Practice Activates Art, Science, and Politics
Tavares Strachan at 58th Venice Biennale (2019) MULTIMEDIA ARTIST Tavares Strachan has joined Marian Goodman Gallery, the New York-based gallery with locations in Paris and London. Strachan’s artistic practice explores the intersections of art, science, and politics. He works across disciplines to surface unknown histories and investigate the nature of invisibility—why certain histories and...
Historic Appointment: Steven Nelson Named Dean of Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at National Gallery of Art
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART in Washington, D.C., announced UCLA art historian Steven Nelson has been selected as the next dean of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts (CASVA). Founded in 1979, CASVA is the museum’s research institute. Currently serving as the Andrew W. Mellon Professor at CASVA (2018–2020), Nelson is on...
Time Magazine Recognizes 100 Years of Influential Women with Covers by Mickalene Thomas, Bisa Butler, and Toyin Ojih Odutola
TIME MAGAZINE is exploring the most influential women of the past century. 2020 marks 100 years since women gained the right to vote in the United States. To recognize the milestone that transformed women’s individual and collective agency, the magazine launched a project called 100 Women of the Year. Introducing the project, Nancy Gibbs,...
Works by Alma Thomas, Charles White, and Beauford Delaney Among Highlights at Christie’s Contemporary Sale
SPRING IS A RECURRING THEME in the abstract paintings of Alma Thomas (1891-1978), who lived and worked in Washington, D.C. Her rhythmic compositions were inspired by the rustling leaves on the Holly Tree outside the bay window in the front room of her home. Thomas also visited the National Arboretum to “get impressions,” as...
A Masterful Portrait Painter, Barkley L. Hendricks Produced an Early Series of Basketball Paintings Grounded in Abstraction
“Father, Son, and…” (1969) by Barkley L. Hendricks ONE OF THE BIG DRAWS at the Jack Shainman booth at Frieze Los Angeles last month was a triptych by Barkley L. Hendricks (1945-2017) called “Father, Son,…” Given the title and the artist’s renown for making masterful portraits that convey his subject’s cool style and mien,...
Record-Setting Painting by Noah Davis and Abstract Canvas by Ed Clark Top Phillips New Now Contemporary Art Auction
A CAPTIVATING AND MYSTERIOUS SCENE painted by Noah Davis (1983-2015) attracted a whirlwind of bids yesterday. “In Search of Gallerius Maximumianus” (2009) far exceeded expectations ($60,000-$80,000) and sold for $400,000, fees included. The price was five times the high estimate and established a new artist record. Set March 4 at Phillips New Now sale,...
Library of Congress Acquires 100,000+ Images From Shawn Walker, First Comprehensive Archive of African American Photographer to Enter Public Collection
SHAWN WALKER, “Neighbor at 124 W 117th St, Harlem, New York,” circa 1970-1979. | Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division HARLEM IS BOTH HOME AND SUBJECT for photographer Shawn Walker. For more than 50 years, he has been documenting the storied neighborhood. He was born there, lives and works there, and throughout his...
On View: ‘Tau Lewis: Sparkle’s Map Home’ at Oakville Galleries in Ontario
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOUND AND RECYCLED TEXTILES are at the heart of Tau Lewis‘s practice. She makes labor-intensive sculptural portraits constructed with hand-sewing, quilting, and assemblage techniques. Her work explores memory, agency, and individual and collective trauma and healing. For example, recent works have considered the legacy of loss...
Artist List for Prospect New Orleans Triennial Includes Mark Bradford, Willie Birch, Simone Leigh, Dawoud Bey, Glenn Ligon, Karon Davis, Naudline Pierre, and Kevin Beasley
Still from single-channel video by Tiona Nekkia McClodden THE ARTIST LIST for Prospect New Orleans was officially announced today. Invited artists for the 2020 triennial include Los Angeles-based Mark Bradford, who participated in the first Prospect New Orleans more than a decade ago and is contributing a major new site-specific work; the late Georgia-born...
93-Year Old Artist Betye Saar to CBS News: ‘The Creative Part of Me is Forever Young’
A CBS SUNDAY MORNING profile of assemblage artist Betye Saar aired Feb. 23. The segment opens with red carpet footage of the Art + Film Gala held last November at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). Honored that evening, Saar walks the red carpet in a black beaded gown by Gucci (one...
Chicago Painter is Central Character in New ‘Candyman’ Horror Film From Jordan Peele and Director Nia DaCosta
“Candyman” stars Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, who also had roles in HBO’s “Watchmen” and Jordan Peele’s “Us.” A NEW HORROR FILM from Jordan Peele weaves the contemporary art world and Chicago gentrification with an urban legend about a supernatural killer with a hook for a hand. According to the legend, if you say Candyman five...
2,500+ Artists Sign Open Letter Endorsing Bernie Sanders for President, Group Includes Kara Walker, Kevin Beasley, and Aria Dean
A SIZABLE GROUP OF ARTISTS has endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for President of the United States, issuing an open letter of support outlining the reasons why they think the he is the best candidate in the Democratic field. More than 2,500 artists have endorsed the online letter, including Kader Attia, Kevin Beasley, Nicole...
The Year Ahead in African American Art: What to See and Do in 2020
THE YEAR IN BLACK ART is off to a fascinating start. In January, Helen Molesworth organized a Noah Davis (1983-2015) exhibition at David Zwirner gallery in New York, a rare look at more than 20 paintings by the late Los Angeles-based artist and founder of the Underground Museum. The Johnson Publishing Company art collection...
Bonhams Los Angeles is Auctioning the Estate of Diahann Carroll, Including Sculptures by Artis Lane and Ed Dwight
AFTER HEARING HER SING HIS SONGS on national television, composer Irving Berlin (1888-1989) sent a note to Diahann Carroll. Typewritten on his personal letterhead, it was dated Feb. 7, 1968. Berlin wrote: “Dear Diahann Carroll, The way you sang those songs last night on the Tonight Show made me feel awfully good. With my...
In a Series of Dignified Portraits, Ajamu Kojo Recalls the Racial Violence that Destroyed ‘Black Wall Street’ Nearly 100 Years Ago
NEARLY A CENTURY AGO, the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Okla., was destroyed. The thriving black business district known as Black Wall Street was besieged in 1921, from May 31 to June 1, by a white mob attacking residents and their homes and businesses. The massacre leveled 35 square blocks, killing countless people (reports range...
