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,...
Trenton Doyle Hancock: What If Torpedo Boy, My Black Superhero, Met Up With Philip Guston’s Klan Character?
Installation view of “Trenton Doyle Hancock: Something American” at James Cohan Gallery NEW PAINTINGS by Trenton Doyle Hancock collapse two worlds, bringing together Torpedo Boy, the artist’s Black superhero character and alter ego, and one of the cartoonish, hooded Klansmen figures from the work of Philip Guston (1913-1980). The images reflect the personal...
A Dilemma of Inheritance: Adebunmi Gbadebo Employs Abstraction and Non-Traditional Materials to Mine Memories and Histories of Enslavement
THERE’S A FAMILY GATHERING of sorts underway at Claire Oliver Gallery in New York. “Adebunmi Gbadebo: A Dilemma of Inheritance” features more than 45 works that consider the legacies of two South Carolina plantations, sites where Black people were once enslaved, production of rice and indigo thrived, and Adebunmi Gbadebo traces her own family...
The Struggle Continues: Kwame Brathwaite’s Iconic Images Reflect His Political Vision and ‘Black is Beautiful’ Directive
A DEEP LOVE OF BLACK PEOPLE and Black culture rings throughout the practice of Kwame Braithwaite, a self-described artist-activist who has said “Black is Beautiful was my directive.” His photography is on view at Philip Martin Gallery in Los Angeles. “Kwame Brathwaite: The Struggle Continues, Victory is Certain” showcases his iconic portraits, street shots,...
Revolution on Trial: Exploring the Black Panther Party’s Legacy in New Haven, Conn.
“A hand that held and loved someone (Personal Choice #3)” (2020) video installation by CHLOË BASS THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY for Self Defense marked its 50th anniversary in 2016 and the occasion was commemorated with books, exhibitions, and nationwide programs. In 2020, Artspace New Haven is recognizing the 50th anniversary of a pivotal moment...
Her Story: Paying Tribute to a Century of Women Who Have a Way With Words
Lorraine Hansberry, 1959 THROUGHOUT THE NATION, organizations and cultural institutions have been commemorating the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment in a variety of ways. At the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., a new exhibition marks the occasion by highlighting 24 women writers whose work has shaped the literary landscape...
Everything is Beautiful: Major Alma W. Thomas Traveling Exhibition Opening at Chrysler Museum of Art in July 2021
TOMORROW, SEPT. 22, would have been the 129th birthday of artist Alma Thomas (1891-1978). The announcement today of a major traveling exhibition co-organized by the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, Va., and the Columbus Museum in her hometown of Columbus, Ga., is a wonderful way to celebrate her life and legacy. “Alma W....
An Ode to Tina Turner, Nikita Gale’s First Solo Museum Exhibition is About Refusal, Presence, and Visibility
“PRIVATE DANCER” (2020) by Nikita Gale THE FIRST SOLO MUSEUM EXHIBITION of Nikita Gale is an abstract sculptural installation at the California African American Museum (CAAM) in Los Angeles. Composed of theatrical trusses and lighting, the work pays homage to Tina Turner’s 1984 album “Private Dancer.” Gale has invoked Turner for six years and...
Employing ‘Outrageous Color,’ Peter Williams Makes Bold Paintings That Confront Racial Oppression and Envision a ‘Black Universe’
Detail of George Floyd Triptych (2020) by Peter Williams IN EARLY AUGUST, artist Peter Williams presented The George Floyd Triptych (2020), at Untitled, Art Online, the art fair’s inaugural virtual event. The work, which depicts the arrest, death, and burial of Floyd in three panels, was the central focus of the Luis De Jesus...
Renaissance Man: An Exceptional Painter, Musician, and Filmmaker, Blitz Bazawule Counts Beyoncé, Ava DuVernay, and Oprah Winfrey Among His Collaborators
A MOMENT IN TIME, a new series of paintings by Blitz Bazawule, is inspired by found photographs he located in markets around the world. The artist first discovered them in Rabat, Morocco, where vendors were selling albums full of old, black-and-white photographs belonging to families they didn’t know. In the paintings, which are on...
On View: ‘Conrad Egyir: Terra Nullius’ at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit
Installation view of “Conrad Egyir: Terra Nullius” at Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE FIRST SOLO MUSEUM EXHIBITION of Conrad Egyir presents a series of individual and group portraits whose subjects hail from Detroit, New York City, or Aburi, Ghana. On view at the Museum of...
On View: ‘Terry Adkins: Resounding’ at Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Mo.
Installation view of “Terry Adkins: Resounding,” featuring “Last Trumpet” (1995). On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions SHOWCASING A BROAD SURVEY of Terry Adkins (1953-2014), the Pulitzer Arts Foundation in St. Louis, Mo., reopened today after five months of closure due to COVID-19. Adkins expressed himself through sculpture, sound, performance, video, and printmaking,...
Carrie Mae Weems on Kitchen Table Series: ‘Not Simply a Voice for African American Women, but More Generally for Women’
IN A NEW ONLINE VIEWING ROOM, Jack Shainman Gallery is showcasing Carrie Mae Weems‘s iconic Kitchen Table Series (1990). The photographs feature a succession of staged scenes that explore female identity, experiences, and relationships in the context of a traditionally female domain. Employing visual performance, image making, and a compelling narrative text, the powerful...
Exploring the Beauty of New Orleans Courtyards, Artist Patrick Waldemar Channeled a Painful History of Racism
PATRICK WALDEMAR, “Hanging Out in the Courtyard,” 2020 (watercolor on paper, 12 x 12 inches). | © Patrick Waldemar, Courtesy the Artist and Stella Jones Gallery WORKING FOR NEARLY A YEAR on a series of paintings inspired by the stately courtyards of New Orleans, Patrick Waldemar‘s work began to shift. With the onset of...
