THIS FALL, A FASCINATING STORY about Nigerian women, female warriors who ruled a prehistoric civilization, will be told at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. Presented through a series of 40 large-scale monochromatic drawings by Toyin Ojih Odutola, the mythological narrative conceived by the artist will unfold on the Smithsonian museum’s...
THE MOST EXTENSIVE SURVEY of British painter Lynette Yiadom-Boakye will open and close at Tate Britain in London. “Lynette Yiadom- Boakye: Fly in League with the Night” features about 80 works made over the span of nearly two decades, dating back to 2003. After debuting at Tate last December, the run of the exhibition...
WHEN BRITISH PAINTER Frank Bowling moved to New York in the mid-1960s, the new art scene broadened his perspective. He connected with Jack Whitten, Mel Edwards, Al Loving, and Daniel LaRue Johnson, met Jasper Johns, and began a decades-long dialogue with Clement Greenburg. It was also in New York that Bowling shifted away from...
ACTIVE IN THE 1960S AND 70S, Black women artists had to deal with politics, even if their work wasn’t overtly political. Some of the most prominent figures from the time, including Vivian Browne, Emma Amos, Camille Billops, Suzanne Jackson, Senga Nengudi, and Betye Saar, rallied with their peers, taking stands and speaking up for...
“Theaster Gates: How to Sell Hardware” at Gray Warehouse, Chicago THE COLLECTING PRACTICE of Theaster Gates is about preserving archives and memorializing social history, cultural history, and changing urban landscapes. His artistic practice imagines new ways to activate, share, present, and reinvent the archives, as he does with his latest exhibition “Theaster Gates: How...
“Alma W. Thomas: Everything is Beautiful,” Chrysler Museum of Art A NEW FOUR-CITY traveling exhibition offers an expansive look at the life and work of Alma Thomas (1891-1978). A pioneer in post-World War II abstraction, Thomas is arguably the earliest example of a highly regarded African American female artist working in abstraction. Best known...
THE SEMINAL TEXT OF W.E.B. DU BOIS (1868-1963) inspired the title of a forthcoming solo exhibition of Amoako Boafo. The Ghanaian-born painter grew up in Osu, where Du Bois, the author of “The Souls of Black Folk” is buried. “Amoako Boafo: Soul of Black Folks” will be on view this fall at the Museum...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE FRESH PERSPECTIVE and imaginative eye of Nadine Ijewere have produced beautiful and novel images, bringing international attention to the rising young photographer. Known for her striking fashion portraiture, Ijewere became the first Black woman to photograph a Vogue magazine cover when she shot the cover...
“The Timmerman’s Kitchen, New Canaan, CT” (2020) by Wardell Milan On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE FIRST MAJOR solo museum exhibition of Harlem-based Wardell Milan confronts the hate entrenched in American society. Milan presents new works on paper that explore the daily lives of white supremacists alongside a chapel-inspired “safe space.”...
FOR DECADES, Faith Ringgold fought to be seen and heard and for representation of Black artists and women artists in New York City museums, all the while following her own creative path. Her activism has opened doors for many, including the artist herself. On the occasion of a major survey of her work at...
“Swim Lesson” (2021) by Khari Turner On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOR HIS FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION in New York, Khari Turner is presenting all new paintings that explore notions of birth and rebirth at Ross-Sutton Gallery. “Khari Turner: Breathing Water to Air” features 12 works, including several tondos. Turner’s images blend...
Emmanuel Lucky Sparrow, the backdrop painter, and his girlfriend. | Undated photo by JACQUES TOUSSELE On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions POST-INDEPENDENCE STUDIO PHOTOGRAPHY in West and Central Africa is celebrated around the world. “Photo Cameroon: Studio Portraiture, 1970s-1990s,” provides a lens through which to view life and culture during an...
“Sam Gilliam: Selections” at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla. On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions AN IMPRESSIVE SURVEY of Sam Gilliam at the Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Fla., was spearheaded by a local African American collector. Warren Colbert, a longstanding member of the museum’s board of directors...
THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT the National Portrait Gallery’s Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition. If you do well you might find yourself in the company of a U.S. President or First Lady. In 2016, Amy Sherald won the competition, becoming the first woman and first Black artist to receive the first place prize. Subsequently, First Lady...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions EMPLOYING ORDINARY MATERIALS, including tar, bricks, rope from lobster traps, and clothing, Karyn Olivier created a series of sculptures and installations that speak to collective memory and intersecting narratives. The conceptual mixed-media works are featured in “At the Intersection of Two Faults” at Tanya Bonakdar Gallery...
THE ANDY WARHOL FOUNDATION for the Visual Arts announced recipients of its Spring 2021 grants, awarding $3.8 million to 50 organizations across the United States and Canada. The grants are giving a new wave of established artists much deserved attention in the form of solo museum exhibitions. The Contemporary Arts Museum Houston is organizing...
Self portrait of artist and his family, including former wife, photographer Deana Lawson. | © Aaron Gilbert On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE COLLECTION of modern paintings assembled by the Columbus Museum of Art is largely the result of the largesse of private collectors who dating back to 1931 have...
THIS FALL, Mickalene Thomas will make a grand statement, presenting all new work in a series of exhibitions in four world capitals, in partnership with Lévy Gorvy. The gallery is hosting the shows at its locations in New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong. Over the past two decades, Thomas has built a singular...
INTIMATELY SCALED PORTRAITS by Danielle McKinney are on view in “Smoke and Mirrors,” her first solo show at Night Gallery in Los Angeles. The artist serves as her own muse, inspiring a series of tightly cropped scenes, solo portraits of female protagonists captured during moments of introspection. Her subjects are self reflective and represent...
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE EXPANSIVE PRACTICE of Maren Hassinger “connects humanity to nature through a range of media.” She transforms common materials, imbuing them with meaning and beauty. Choreographic rhythm is inherent in her presentations and is particularly forward in her latest. New York-based Hassinger has created a collection...