Titus Kaphar Explored Renaissance Christian Imagery and Presented a Black Jesus Painting in a Deconsecrated Church in Brussels
Gesù Church in Brussels A DECONSECRATED CHURCH in Brussels, Belgium, served as the venue for a recent exhibition of religious paintings by Titus Kaphar. “The Evidence of Things Unseen” was presented by Maruani Mercier gallery at Gesù Church. Kaphar’s practice is a sustained interrogation of Western art. He challenges historic narratives and questions what...
Nina Chanel Abney Embraces the Great Outdoors in ‘Idyllic Scenes of Blackness’
“Nina Chanel Abney: The Great Escape” at Jack Shainman Gallery, New York. A CAMPFIRE, BIKES, AND FRESHLY CAUGHT FISH have replaced the tumult and complexity of contemporary urban life that have animated Nina Chanel Abney‘s paintings in recent years. Her latest exhibition features rural scenes: farming, hunting, and kayaking. The graphic, boldly hued paintings...
Sam Gilliam on His New Work at Pace Gallery: ‘I Am Trying to Express Something That is Contemporary’
THE SIX-DECADE CAREER of Sam Gilliam has been defined by a commitment to color and a penchant for invention, innovation, and charting his own path. In the mid-1960s, Gilliam developed two new formats for presenting his work. He began wrapping his canvases on top of frames, creating his signature Beveled-Edge paintings. Then he removed...
Envisioned by the Late Artist Himself, New Ernie Barnes Exhibition Brings His Figurative Paintings to Life
Installation view of “Ernie Barnes: Liberating Humanity From Within.” | Photo by Jeff McLane, Courtesy UTA Artist Space THEIR INITIAL SIT DOWN was highly productive, a real meeting of minds. Luz Rodriguez manages the estate of artist Ernie Barnes (1938-2009). Arthur Lewis is creative director of UTA Fine Arts & UTA Artist Space. Just...
Black Motherhood and American Mourning: After Challenging Historic Narratives, Titus Kaphar Confronts Contemporary Realities
FOR HIS FIRST EXHIBITION since joining Gagosian in April, Titus Kaphar is showing a series of new paintings. “Titus Kaphar: From a Tropical Space” is on view in New York. Kaphar has developed a practice around challenging art historical images from the 18th and 19th centuries and the American history narratives they normalize. He...
National Museum of Women in the Arts is Presenting First Survey of Textile and Social Practice Artist Sonya Clark in March 2021
“Afro Abe II” (2010) by Sonya Clark THE SINGULAR PRACTICE of Sonya Clark will be showcased for the first time with a full-scale survey at the National Museum of Women in the Arts (NMWA) in Washington, D.C. A textile and social practice artist, Clark explores issues of race, identity, visibility, and Blackness, expressing herself...
Phillips is Hosting a Selling Exhibition With Dindga McCannon Whose Mixed-Media Works Center Black Women
“Women in Jazz Saturday” (2020) by Dindga McCannon EMPLOYING TRADITIONAL QUILTING TECHNIQUES in combination with paint, printed images, and beaded embellishments, mixed-media works by Dindga McCannon reference the March on Washington and Monet’s Garden and pay tribute to Maya Angelou, Faith Ringgold, Nelson Mandela, Mariam Makeba, women in jazz, and Lavinia Williams, a lead...
On View: ‘Caroline Kent: A Sudden Appearance of the Sun’ at Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOR HER FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION with Kohn Gallery in Los Angeles, Caroline Kent is presenting a suite of large-scale paintings. Kent explores the intersection of language, abstraction, and painting. She begins by covering her canvases with black paint, creating a “non-space” of “unlocatability.” From there, the...
Across the Nation: 5 Photography Exhibitions Showcase Works by Kay Hickman, Awol Erizku, John Edmonds, Lyle Ashton Harris, and Young Genre-Bending Image Makers
FROM ST. LOUIS TO MIAMI and New York, five photography exhibitions are showcasing the work of Black image makers. John Edmonds, Awol Erizku, and a new generation of fast-rising photographers are exploring fashion, art history, and contemporary culture. On the documentary front, two photographers capture New York. Lyle Ashton Harris’s archival work tracks the...
Artist Emma Amos on Her Falling Series: I Liked the Idea Somebody Was ‘Trying to Catch You’ or ‘Holding Onto You’
IN THIS MOMENT OF CHALLENGES, uncertainty, and promise, Ryan Lee Gallery is presenting a timely exhibition of works by Emma Amos (1937-2020). “Emma Amos: Falling Figures” brings together figurative paintings that depict bodies in free fall—indeterminable states of abandon, loss, anxiety, rescue, and trust. This exhibition is the first dedicated to the falling figure...
Election 2020: Artists and Museums are Actively Engaged, Presenting Exhibitions and Public Awareness Campaigns, and Encouraging Voter Participation
Vote.org’s Plan Your Vote campaign features voting advocacy artworks by artists including, from left, Julie Mehretu and Calida Rawles ELECTION DAY IS NOV. 3 in the United States and in the lead up artists and art institutions have been active and engaged. The political season has inspired countless artist projects, information campaigns, public art...
Online: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Focus on Artists Amy Sherald, Charles Gaines, Genevieve Gaignard, Edgar Arceneaux, and The Racial Imaginary Institute
NEW NORMS of remote engagement have emerged from the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the positive extensions of this development is galleries presenting online exhibitions, initially in lieu of and increasinly alongside in-person shows, expanding opportunities to experience new and recent works by artists. Shown here are five online exhibitions hosted by...
On View: ‘Dawn Williams Boyd: Cloth Paintings’ Online at Fort Gansevoort in New York
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THESE ARE NOT QUILTS. Images of white supremacist Byron De La Beckwith in the moments before he assassinated NAACP field secretary Medgar Evers (1925-1963) in the driveway of his Jackson, Miss., home or the decapitation of a journalist with a bloodied sign reading “Freedom of Speech...
New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Showcasing Works by Kevin Beasley, Ficre Ghebreyesus, Benny Andrews, Theaster Gates, and Odili Donald Odita
FALL IS ALWAYS PRIME TIME for exhibition programming and this season is no different, despite special protocols in place at galleries for in-person shows, given the pandemic. Some of the must-see art shows on view in New York City feature painting, both traditional forms and innovative mixed-media approaches incorporating a variety of materials. A...
James Little’s Black Paintings are a ‘Volley of Minimalist Ideals’ Exposing the Drama, Richness, and Contrasting Values of Black
WORKS BY TWO SINGULAR ARTISTS have been brought together for a tightly curated gallery exhibition titled “Louise Nevelson + James Little.” It’s an all black show. The practice of James Little is devoted to painting. He is known for his abstract works, geometric explorations driven by form and a spectrum of bright, exuberant color....
Jammie Holmes Pours His Emotions Into His Paintings: ‘When People Look at My Work I Want Them to Feel Something’
“Four Brown Chairs” (2020) by Jammie Holmes FOUR YEARS AGO, Jammie Holmes started painting. He was working in a machine shop in Dallas, Texas, and thought the creative outlet would help calm his high blood pressure and anxiety. Between the unprecedented circumstances of the pandemic and quarantine and the urgency of the racial justice...
Vote 2020: With Election Season Underway, 30 Artists Present Thought-Provoking Art Reflecting on State of American Democracy
THIS CAMPAIGN SEASON is like none other. In anticipation of the 2020 Presidential election, Rice University is presenting an intergenerational group exhibition focused on the state of democracy and some of the most urgent and divisive issues in American politics, namely voter access, police brutality, gun control, and immigration. “States of Mind: Art and...
On View: ADA / Contemporary Art Gallery in Accra, Ghana, Opens with Solo Exhibition of Collins Obijiaku
“Papa and Joshua” (2020) by Collins Obijiaku On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A NEW COMMERCIAL GALLERY is opening in Accra, Ghana, on Oct. 15. Established by art advisor Adora Mba, ADA / Contemporary Art Gallery‘s inaugural exhibition features 17 portraits by emerging Nigerian artist Collins Obijiaku (born 1995). “Gindin Mangoro: Under...
Sculptor Simone Leigh is Representing the United States at 2022 Venice Biennale
THE UNITED STATES will be represented by Simone Leigh at the 59th Venice Biennale. It’s a historic choice. Leigh is the first Black female artist ever selected to stage a solo exhibition in the American Pavilion at the prestigious international exhibition and she is the third African American artist in row chosen for the...
On View: ‘To Be Determined’ at Dallas Museum of Art in Texas
“Untitled (America)” (2018) by Glenn Ligon On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE STATE OF THE NATION is influx. The pandemic. Isolation. Police killings. Racial justice protests. Election 2020. “To Be Determined” is a response to the moment. The collection exhibition draws on the expansive holdings of the Dallas Museum of Art,...
