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An essential resource focused on visual art from a Black perspective, Culture Type explores the intersection of art, history, and culture

Exhibitions
Tavares Strachan Centers Underknown Black History and Unsung Heroes, His First Mid-Career Survey 'Offers Revelatory Lessons That Profoundly Shift Our View of the World'

Tavares Strachan Centers Underknown Black History and Unsung Heroes, His First Mid-Career Survey ‘Offers Revelatory Lessons That Profoundly Shift Our View of the World’

Installation view of “Tavares Strachan: There Is Light Somewhere,” Hayward Gallery, London, UK, 2024. Shown, TAVARES STRACHAN, “Ruin of a Giant (Marcus Garvey),” 2024. | Photo by Mark Blower, Courtesy the artist and Hayward Gallery   A FORMIDABLE SCULPTURE of Black Nationalist Marcus Garvey’s head is stationed out front of Hayward Gallery at Southbank Centre...
'David C. Driskell and Friends' Presents Works by Some of the Most Significant Figures in Modern and Contemporary African American Art

‘David C. Driskell and Friends’ Presents Works by Some of the Most Significant Figures in Modern and Contemporary African American Art

DAVID C. DRISKELL, “Five Blue Notes,” 1980 (painting, 22.50 x 29.50 inches). | Gift of Nene Humphrey from the Benny Andrews and Nene Humphrey Collection, 2010.06.020. © David C. Driskell / David C. Driskell Center, 2017, Photography by Greg Staley, 2018   AN ARTIST, CURATOR, AND SCHOLAR, David C. Driskell (1931-2020) is a foundational figure...
Carolyn Mazloomi's Quilt Designs Focus on Social Justice Issues, Her Forthcoming Exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem Presents New Works

Carolyn Mazloomi’s Quilt Designs Focus on Social Justice Issues, Her Forthcoming Exhibition at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem Presents New Works

CAROLYN MAZLOOMI, “Hands Up…Don’t Shoot #2,” 2024 (poly-cotton fabric, cotton thread, cotton batting, fabric paint, 58 x 102 inches / 147.32 x 259.08 cm). | © Carolyn Mazloomi, Courtesy the artist and Claire Oliver Gallery   STORYTELLING, CRAFTSMANSHIP, and the often harsh realities of African American history co-exist in the work of Carolyn Mazloomi (b....
On View: 'When You See Me: Visibility in Contemporary Art/History' at Dallas Museum of Art Showcases Recent Acquisitions by Artists of Color, Women, and Queer Artists

On View: ‘When You See Me: Visibility in Contemporary Art/History’ at Dallas Museum of Art Showcases Recent Acquisitions by Artists of Color, Women, and Queer Artists

DEBORAH ROBERTS, “When you see me,” 2019 (mixed media and collage on canvas). | Dallas Museum of Art, TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art Fund, 2020.20. © Deborah Roberts. Courtesy the artist and Stephen Friedman Gallery, London and New York   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   A GROUP OF SEVEN BOYS...
Arthur Jafa: 'I Think Being Black in a White Supremacist Environment is Fascinating, Often Fun, Generally Harrowing'

Arthur Jafa: ‘I Think Being Black in a White Supremacist Environment is Fascinating, Often Fun, Generally Harrowing’

ARTHUR JAFA, “Mickey Mouse was a Scorpio,” 2017 (chromogenic print mounted on aluminum, 52 × 83 inches / 132.1 × 210.8 cm). | Collection Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Gift of Marilyn and Larry Fields, 2023.61. Photo by Fredrik Nilsen   A PROLIFERATION OF CELEBRATED Black contemporary artists focuses on figuration and portraiture and explores...
Summer Shows: 18 Museum Exhibitions Showcase Array of Black Artists, From Zanele Muholi, Frank Walter and Calida Rawles to Tyler Mitchell, Michael Thorpe & Arthur Jafa

Summer Shows: 18 Museum Exhibitions Showcase Array of Black Artists, From Zanele Muholi, Frank Walter and Calida Rawles to Tyler Mitchell, Michael Thorpe & Arthur Jafa

SOME OF SUMMER’S MOST INTERESTING museum exhibitions are historic, presenting the first institutional solo shows of artists spanning generations. The selections include the first U.S. solo museum exhibitions of Frank Walter (1926–2009) at The Drawing Center in New York, Leilah Babirye at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, and Calida Rawles at Pérez Art...
Leilah Babirye's Hand-Built Ceramic and Carved Wood Sculptures are Expressive Portraits of Her LGBTQ+ Community

Leilah Babirye’s Hand-Built Ceramic and Carved Wood Sculptures are Expressive Portraits of Her LGBTQ+ Community

Installation view of “Leilah Babirye: We Have a History,” de Young Museum, San Francisco, Calif., 2024. | Photo by Gary Sexton, Courtesy de Young Museum   WORKING WITH TRADITIONAL ceramic and wood-carving methods from Western and Central Africa, Leilah Babirye (b. 1985) makes contemporary sculptures that are all her own. She produces hand-built ceramic busts...
Brothers Boscoe Holder and Geoffrey Holder Built Storied Careers in Dance and Performance With Painting Ever Present in Their Pursuit of the Arts

Brothers Boscoe Holder and Geoffrey Holder Built Storied Careers in Dance and Performance With Painting Ever Present in Their Pursuit of the Arts

GEOFFREY HOLDER, “Swimmers II,” 1986 (colored pencil on paper, 91.4 x 116.8 cm / 36 x 46 inches). | © Geoffrey Holder, Courtesy the Geoffrey Holder Estate and James Fuentes   TRUE RENAISSANCE MEN, brothers Boscoe Holder (1921-2007) and Geoffrey Holder (1930-2014) were active across multiple artistic disciplines, including dance, choreography, music, acting, and painting....
On View: 'Will Stovall: Kant Crisis' at Ulrik Gallery in New York, Artist's First-Ever Solo Exhibition is Inspired by German Philosophy

On View: ‘Will Stovall: Kant Crisis’ at Ulrik Gallery in New York, Artist’s First-Ever Solo Exhibition is Inspired by German Philosophy

WILL STOVALL, “Circus,” 2022 (oil on canvas, walnut frame, 15 1/4 x 26 3/4 inches / 38.7 x 67.9 cm). | © Will Stovall, Courtesy the artist and Ulrik   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   FOR HIS FIRST-EVER solo exhibition, Will Stovall is presenting a series of intimately scaled paintings inspired by...
On View: 'Sylvia Snowden: Painting Humanity' Features Abstracted Portraits Thick With Paint and Rich With Color at UK's Hepworth Wakefield

On View: ‘Sylvia Snowden: Painting Humanity’ Features Abstracted Portraits Thick With Paint and Rich With Color at UK’s Hepworth Wakefield

SYLVIA SNOWDEN, “Beverly Johnson,” 1978 (acrylic and oil pastel on Masonite, 121.9 x 243.8 cm). | © Sylvia Snowden. Courtesy Edel Assanti and Franklin Parrasch Gallery. Photo by Andy Keate   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   WASHINGTON, D.C. ARTIST Sylvia Snowden (b. 1942) is presenting her first solo institutional exhibition in Europe....
Changing the Face of Democracy: In New York, Major Museum Exhibition and Centennial Tribute Explores Life and Work of Political Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm

Changing the Face of Democracy: In New York, Major Museum Exhibition and Centennial Tribute Explores Life and Work of Political Trailblazer Shirley Chisholm

Installation view of “Changing the Face of Democracy: Shirley Chisholm at 100,” Museum of the City of New York, New York, N.Y. (June 24, 2024-July 20, 2025). | Courtesy MCNY   A POLITICAL TRAILBLAZER and historic Presidential candidate from New York, Shirley Chisholm (1924-2005) ‘changed the face of democracy,’ gave a voice to ordinary citizens,...
On View: 'Ranti Bam: Anima' at James Cohan Marks New York Debut of British Nigerian Artist Known for Sculptural Ceramics

On View: ‘Ranti Bam: Anima’ at James Cohan Marks New York Debut of British Nigerian Artist Known for Sculptural Ceramics

Installation view of “Ranti Bam: Anima,” James Cohan Gallery, 291 Grand Street, New York, N.Y. (May 17-July 26, 2024). | Photo by Phoebe Dheurle   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   FOR HER FIRST EXHIBITION in New York, British Nigerian artist Ranti Bam (b. 1982) is presenting two bodies of sculptural ceramics: Abstract...
'Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life,' First Major Exhibition of Jamaican British Modernist Charts His Place in Art History

‘Ronald Moody: Sculpting Life,’ First Major Exhibition of Jamaican British Modernist Charts His Place in Art History

Ronald Moody working on “Johanaan,” 1963 (shown below). | © Val Wilmer. Photoby Val Wilmer   AN EXPANSIVE LOOK at the work of Ronald Moody (1900-1984) opens this weekend at The Hepworth Wakefield in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, UK. Moody is one of Britain’s most highly regarded modernist sculptors. He spent time in Paris and was...
Opening Soon: 'Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection' at High Museum of Art in Atlanta

Opening Soon: ‘Patterns in Abstraction: Black Quilts from the High’s Collection’ at High Museum of Art in Atlanta

LUCY T. PETTWAY, (American, 1921–2004), “Birds in the Air,” 1981 (cotton and cotton-polyester blend). | High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Museum purchase and gift of the Souls Grown Deep Foundation from the William S. Arnett Collection, 2017.70. © Estate of Lucy T. Pettway   Opening Soon previews works from noteworthy, forthcoming exhibitions   DRAWN FROM...
Turner Contemporary is Presenting First European Institutional Exhibition of Ed Clark, Pioneering Abstract Painter with International Profile

Turner Contemporary is Presenting First European Institutional Exhibition of Ed Clark, Pioneering Abstract Painter with International Profile

Installation view of “Ed Clark,” Turner Contemporary, Margate, Kent, UK (May 25–Sept. 1 2024). | © Courtesy Turner Contemporary, Photo by Thierry Bal   AN ORIGINAL FIGURE in Post-War Abstraction, Ed Clark (1926-2019) is recognized for his innovation and experimentation. He made paintings distinguished by their energy, drama, and generous strokes of seductive color achieved...
'Ernie Barnes: In Rapture' Surveys Artist's Key Themes, Including Sports, Southern Scenes, and 'Good Times'

‘Ernie Barnes: In Rapture’ Surveys Artist’s Key Themes, Including Sports, Southern Scenes, and ‘Good Times’

ERNIE BARNES, “Evans Family Portrait,” 1974 (acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30 inches / 61 x 76.2 cm). | Courtesy the Ernie Barnes Estate, Ortuzar Projects and Andrew Kreps Gallery. © Ernie Barnes   THE FIRST EXHIBITION of Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) at Ortuzar Projects in New York surveys the late artist’s key themes, including the...
Language of Tears: First New York Solo Show of Painter Jerrell Gibbs Explores Complexity of Fatherhood at James Cohan Gallery

Language of Tears: First New York Solo Show of Painter Jerrell Gibbs Explores Complexity of Fatherhood at James Cohan Gallery

JERRELL GIBBS, “My worst fear is one day that you come home from school and see your father face while hearin’ about tragedy on news,” 2024 (oil, oil stick on canvas, 60 x 95 inches / 152.4 x 241.3 cm). | © Jerrell Gibbs 2024. Image courtesy the artist and James Cohan Gallery, New York....
Chair With My Hair: Major Retrospective of Arthur Simms Spans Four Decades, Exploring His Jamaican Roots, Experiences in Italy, and Use of Symbolic Materials

Chair With My Hair: Major Retrospective of Arthur Simms Spans Four Decades, Exploring His Jamaican Roots, Experiences in Italy, and Use of Symbolic Materials

Installation view of “Arthur Simms: Chair with My Hair,” Kunst Museum St. Gallen, Switzerland, Feb. 10-July 7, 2024. Shown, from left, ARTHUR SIMMS, “Lucy Fradkin Meets John Delapa Or Gregor,” 1989-92 (rope, wood, glue, paint, metal and objects, 284 × 140 × 61 cm); “Mell,” 2003 (wood, rope, wire, wheels and plastic, 94 × 86...
All About Love: Mickalene Thomas Painting Covers Juxtapoz Magazine on Occasion of Artist's International Touring Exhibition

All About Love: Mickalene Thomas Painting Covers Juxtapoz Magazine on Occasion of Artist’s International Touring Exhibition

MICKALENE THOMAS, “Afro Goddess Looking Forward,” 2015 (rhinestones, acrylic, and oil on wood panel). | © 2024 Mickalene Thomas   ‘AFRO GODDESS Looking Forward’ by Mickalene Thomas (b. 1971) in many ways is representative of the artist’s practice. Both the title of the painting and its figurative image encapsulate the themes that have recurred throughout...
On View: 'Diedrick Brackens: Blood Compass' at Jack Shainman Gallery Presents Poetic, Painterly Weavings Made Over Past 6 Years

On View: ‘Diedrick Brackens: Blood Compass’ at Jack Shainman Gallery Presents Poetic, Painterly Weavings Made Over Past 6 Years

Installation view of DIEDRICK BRACKENS, “forks of the creek,” 2023 (cotton and acrylic yarn, 86 x 156 inches), “Diedrick Brackens: blood compass,” Jack Shainman Gallery, 46 Lafayette Street, New York, N.Y., 2024. | © Diedrick Brackens. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York   On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions   THE...