New York Now: Fall Exhibitions Feature Amy Sherald, Roy DeCarava, Wangechi Mutu, Melvin Edwards, Alvin Baltrop, and Ed Clark, Plus Betye Saar and Pope.L at the New MoMA
Installation view of Betye Saar at Museum of Modern Art FALL IN NEW YORK CITY is always a time of renewal and fresh new perspectives when it comes what’s next and relevant in art. This season there are an exceptional number of opportunities to experience the work of African American artists in museums, galleries,...
Painter Ed Clark, 93, a Pioneering Figure in Post-War Abstraction, Has Died
Artist Ed Clark (1926-2019) A SINGULAR FIGURE in post-war Abstraction, Ed Clark (1926-2019) died Oct. 18 in Detroit. He was 93. Clark is recognized for his innovation, experimentation, and seductive use of color. Over seven decades, he built a practice influenced by his education in Chicago and Paris, exposure to European modernists, and a...
Latest News in African American Art: Arthur Jafa Wins PIAC, Black Last Supper Uncovered, Firelei Báez at ICA Boston, Nick Cave Among ‘Greats,’ Simone Leigh Acquisition & More
Last Supper by Akili Ron Anderson. | Photo by Evy Mages, Courtesy the photographer The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS A construction crew made a monumental discovery earlier this month. A black Last Supper frieze was found behind drywall at a...
Dwight A. McBride Named First Black President of The New School in New York
A CENTURY AFTER ITS FOUNDING, the New School has appointed its first black president and the first person of color to lead the institution. Dwight A. McBride will serve as the ninth president of the New School, which regards itself as a nexus for scholars, artists, and designers. Established in 1919, the New York City...
Saint Louis Art Museum Has Acquired ‘Seated Woman,’ Elizabeth Catlett’s Record-Setting Sculpture
A CARVED MAHOGANY sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett (1915-2012) set a new artist record in New York this week. “Seated Woman” (1962) sold for $389,000 (fees included) at Swann Auction Galleries African-American Fine Art sale on Oct. 8. “Elizabeth Catlett was especially deserving of a new record, and ‘Seated Woman’ was the perfect work to...
Latest News in African American Art: Artist Selection for J. Marion Sims Replacement Monument Goes Sideways, 2021 Whitney Biennial Curators Announced & More
VINNIE BAGWELL, Rendering for “Victory Beyond Sims,” 2019. Bagwell’s proposal envisioning a “majestic angel” to replace the Central Park monument to J. Marion Sims was favored by representatives of the community and ultimately emerged as the city’s official choice. | Courtesy the artist ACQUISITIONS Eleven works from South African artist Zanele Muholi‘s “Faces and...
Black Artists are Headlining Exhibitions Throughout the UK This Fall, 24 Feature the Likes of Kara Walker, Lina Iris Viktor, Mark Bradford, and Otobong Nkanga
OCTOBER IN THE UK is black history month. It’s also a significant month when it comes to art this year. Throughout this month, and the rest of the fall season, there are many opportunities to experience the work of emerging and established figures. Black artists are headlining exhibitions at museums and galleries in London,...
Paintings by Hurvin Anderson and Mark Bradford Among Top Lots at Phillips London Evening Sale, New Records Set by Simone Leigh and Derek Fordjour
FAMILY EXPERIENCES inspire much of Hurvin Anderson‘s work. A mix of figuration and abstraction his paintings draw on memory and often depict specific places and singular moments. Anderson’s sister emigrated to Canada from the UK. “Beaver Lake” (1998) portrays her and her child at the Alberta lake. Made early in the artist’s career, “Beaver...
Fast-Rising Artist Derek Fordjour Set a New Auction Record at Phillips New York
PHILLIPS BEGAN the fall auction season with its New Now sale and the results yielded an artist record for Derek Fordjour. “Agency and Regulation (study)” (2016) was estimated to sell for $40,000-$60,000, and the painting more than doubled high expectations reaching $137,500 (fees included). The new benchmark was established Sept. 24 in New York....
Latest News in African American Art: Kehinde Wiley’s First Public Monument Unveiled, Darren Walker Joins National Gallery of Art Board & More
The following review presents a snapshot of recent news in African American art and related black culture: NEWS Joined by a sea of onlookers gathered in Times Square, Kehinde Wiley unveiled “Rumors of War” (2019) on Sept. 27. The artist’s first public monument is made of patinated bronze and stands more than 27...
2019 MacArthur Fellows Include Artist Cameron Rowland and Landscape Architect Walter Hood
Landscape Architect Walter Hood EARLIER THIS YEAR, Cameron Rowland had a solo exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) Los Angeles. His research-based practice brings attention to generations of systemic racism and inequality upheld by government institutions and longstanding polices. For his MOCA show, he focused his scrutiny on the museum, which benefitted...
Officially Underway, David Hammons’s Hudson River Project is a Monument to New York City History and Artistic Intervention
THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART sits adjacent to the Hudson River, a waterfront with a storied history that inspired “Day’s End,” a monumental, permanent public art project by David Hammons. Once home to meatpacking warehouses and commercial piers that served the shipping industry, the piers were reclaimed in the early 1970s becoming a...
Artes Mundi Prize Shortlist Announced, 6 Artists Include Carrie Mae Weems, Firelei Báez, and Dineo Seshee Bopape
THE WINNER OF FORTHCOMING Artes Mundi Prize will be an artist of color. A shortlist of six artists vying for the ninth edition of the biennial prize was announced Sept. 24. The artists are Firelei Báez (Dominican Republic), Dineo Seshee Bopape (South Africa), Meiro Koizumi (Japan), Beatriz Santiago Muñoz (Puerto Rico), Prabhakar Pachpute (India),...
Denene De Quintal Appointed Assistant Curator of Native American Art at Detroit Institute of Arts
THE DETROIT INSTITUTE OF ARTS (DIA) has named Denene De Quintal assistant curator of Native American art in the Department of the Arts of Africa, Oceania and Indigenous Americas. De Quintal is joining the DIA after serving for two years as the inaugural Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellow in Native Arts at the Denver...
MCA Chicago’s ‘Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech’ is an Exhibition Experience Dedicated to the Fast Rise of the Artist/Designer
Installation view of “Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech” at MCA Chicago THE MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART CHICAGO is presenting the first museum exhibition dedicated to Virgil Abloh. The fast-rising designer and inveterate collaborator is the head of menswear design at Louis Vuitton and founder of the “streetwear” label Off-White. A traveling survey spanning two...
Whitney Biennial 2019: A Look at 7 Artists and the Works They Presented
Installation view of work by Daniel Lind-Ramos at 2019 Whitney Biennial NEW YORK, N.Y.—Throughout the run of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, an inordinate amount of attention has been paid to the challenges and controversies surrounding the exhibition at the expense of consideration of the art on view in the galleries. Amid protests, mixed reviews,...
2019 Whitney Biennial: The Museum as a Site of Protest
THE ROOTS OF THE WHITNEY BIENNIAL date to 1932. Originally an annual event, the exhibition was established as a biennial in 1973. Through the decades, organizers of the group show have sought to reflect the state of contemporary art and tap the pulse of what’s going on outside the museum’s galleries. As a result,...
Cover Subject: Countering Historic Narratives, Derrick Adams Makes the Images He Wants to See in the World
BLACK PEOPLE FLOATING leisurely in pools are among the most recognizable images Derrick Adams has made in recent years. The brightly colored scenes in his Floaters series usually feature an individual figure lounging on an inflatable floater. “Floater 49” (2017), a mixed-media collage work from his Floaters series appears on the fall 2019 cover...
A Pioneer of Conceptual Art, Lorna Simpson Receives 2019 Getty Medal
AGAINST A STORMY BACKDROP, the 2019 J. Paul Getty Medals were presented to Mary Beard, an author and classics professor at the University of Cambridge, and American artists Ed Ruscha and Lorna Simpson. The recipients were announced in January and a dinner was held in their honor Sept. 16. Simpson’s recent paintings have been...
‘Art & Race Matters’: First Comprehensive Retrospective of Robert Colescott Opens at CAC Cincinnati This Week
BLENDING PROVOCATIVE PERSPECTIVES on race and gender relations, a unique sense of humor, knowledge of Western art history, and lived experience with American identity, culture, and traditions, Robert Colescott (1925-2009) developed an insightful and thought-provoking practice that didn’t shy away from controversial topics and images that might offend. He was an exceptional painter whose...
