Next Turbine Hall Commission Goes to El Anatsui, Celebrated Sculptor Will Create New Site-Specific Installation at Tate Modern
THIS FALL, Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall will be graced with a new site-specific installation by renowned artist El Anatsui. The London museum announced this morning that the Ghana-born, Nigeria-based sculptor known for his dazzling tapestry-style installations is the next Hyundai Commission artist. The annual presentation provides a unique opportunity for an artist to envision...
Shrouds and Spirit Catchers: Woven Paintings by Alonzo Davis are Layered with Personal Meaning and Cultural Symbolism
ALONZO DAVIS, King’s Peace Cloth, 1985 (acrylic on woven canvas, 56 x 56 inches). | © Alonzo Davis, Courtesy Alonzo Davis and parrasch heijnen ‘Alonzo Davis: The Blanket Series’ is on view at Parrasch Heijnen gallery in Los Angeles. The artist spoke about the series during oral history interviews with UCLA REV....
As We Rise: Photography Publication and Coinciding Traveling Exhibition Explore Black Life on Both Sides of Atlantic
OVER THE PAST 25 years, Kenneth Montague has built an expansive photography-based collection that explores Blackness and the Black experience, visualizing what Black life looks like on both sides of the Atlantic. The Wedge Collection features images by Black artists from throughout the diaspora—from Canada, the United States, the Caribbean, Great Britain, South America,...
Depicting Black Bodies in Motion, Noel W. Anderson’s Tapestries Reinvent Images From Iconic TV Show ‘Soul Train’
NOEL W. ANDERSON, “Patsey,” (stretched tapestry, 83.3/4 x 110 inches / 213 x 279.4 cm). | From the artist’s studio WORKING PRIMARILY WITH ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS, Noel W. Anderson reproduces images of police brutality, Black masculinity, and Black love on jacquard tapestries. He reinvents and manipulates both the images and the surfaces of the textiles,...
On View: See Images From ‘Otis Kwame: (S)kin Deep,’ Portland Art Museum Exhibition Features Recent Portraits
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions RECENT FIGURATIVE PAINTINGS and works on paper by Otis Quaicoe are on view at the Portland Art Museum, the artist’s adopted hometown museum. Born in Ghana, Quaicoe moved to Portland, Ore., in 2017, joining his new wife in the city where she lived and worked....
On View: See Images From ‘Tyler Mitchell: Chrysalis’ at Gagosian Gallery, Artist’s First Solo Exhibition in London
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions FOR HIS FIRST SOLO EXHIBITION in London and his first solo show with Gagosian gallery, Tyler Mitchell is presenting a new series of transporting photographs of Black figures that blend the serene with the surreal. Made this year, the images were captured among the natural...
50+ Museum Exhibitions to See This Fall Feature Artists Henry Taylor, Fred Eversley, Barbara Chase-Riboud, Theaster Gates, Black Potters, Just Above Midtown Gallery & More
AT A TIME WHEN NEW YORK CITY galleries and museums had little interest in African American artists, Linda Goode Bryant established Just Above Midtown, a gallery and community space that served as both sanctuary and experimental platform for artists of color. Half a century after its founding in 1974, Just Above Midtown is now...
12 Museum Exhibitions to See Now Feature Sam Gilliam, Billy Zangewa, Deana Lawson, Isaac Julien, Young Fashion Photographers, Memphis Metal Workers & More
THEMED EXHIBITIONS exploring the Great Migration and showcasing works by metal workers in Memphis and young fashion photographers are among the noteworthy shows featuring Black artists that opened in museums this spring and summer. From Seattle to Cleveland, Atlanta, Boston, and London, many of these exhibitions remain open through September. Museums are presenting works...
London: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Present Works by Artists Deborah Roberts, Nengi Omuku, Sokari Douglas Camp, Gareth Nyandoro, Mostaff Muchawaya, and Kara Walker
CURRENTLY ON VIEW in London, galleries are presenting solo exhibitions of American artists Deborah Roberts and Kara Walker; emerging Nigerian artist Nengi Omuku; and British Nigerian sculptor Sokari Douglas Camp. In addition, a two-artist show is presenting works by Gareth Nyandoro and Mostaff Muchawaya, who are both based in Harare, Zimbabwe. The exhibitions dedicated...
Culture Talk: Curator Kanitra Fletcher on Afro-Atlantic Histories: Exhibition is About ‘How the African Diaspora Comprises All These Voices and Lives and Experiences’
A VISUAL REVELATION, “Afro-Atlantic Histories” presents a sweeping account of the African Diaspora. The exhibition explores the “historical experiences and cultural formations” of Black people of African descent, across five centuries dating from the 17th century to the present. More than 130 works of art by artists from Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and the...
New York: 5 Gallery Exhibitions Explore Work of Artists Amanda Williams, Vivian Browne, Shikeith, Alberta Whittle, Alanis Forde, and Akilah Watts
IN NEW YORK CITY, five must-see exhibitions are dedicated to Amanda Williams, Vivian Browne, Shikeith, Alberta Whittle, Alanis Forde, and Akilah Watts. The artists work in a variety of mediums, most prominently painting. The group includes three artists who hail originally from Barbados; Shikeith and Whittle are presenting their first solo exhibitions in New...
Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Sylvia Snowden, Naudline Pierre, Walter Price, Wole Lagunju, and Ebony G. Patterson
IN NEW YORK CITY, five must-see solo exhibitions are dedicated to artists whose practices are largely focused on painting: Sylvia Snowden, Naudline Pierre, Walter Price, Wole Lagunju, and Ebony G. Patterson. Expressing themselves through abstraction and figuration, the artists explore fantasy worlds, beauty, violence, religion, and “mental landscapes.” The gallery shows close this weekend:...
Ernie Barnes Iconic ‘Sugar Shack’ Painting on Loan to Houston Museum One Month After Record-Shattering Auction Sale
THE VICTOR IN A FIERCE BIDDING WAR, art collector Bill Perkins paid a record-shattering $15.3 million for “The Sugar Shack” (1976) by Ernie Barnes (1938-2009) at Christie’s New York on May 12. The iconic painting was estimated to sell for about $200,000, so the staggering price made international news and brought long overdue, widespread...
Closing Soon: Must-See New York Gallery Exhibitions Showcase Works by Lorraine O’Grady, Terry Adkins, Lauren Halsey, and Tavares Strachan
IN NEW YORK CITY, four must-see solo exhibitions showcase works by artists with singular practices: Lorraine O’Grady, Terry Adkins, Tavares Strachan, and Lauren Halsey. Spanning three generations, the artists work across multiple mediums mining Black history, culture, and experience through conceptual lenses. The gallery shows close this weekend: LORRAINE O’GRADY, “Gaze,” 1991/2019 (archival...
On View: See Images From ‘Joy Yamusangie: Feeling Good,’ Inspired by Expressive Nature of Jazz, Exhibition Explores Identity and Social Constructs at NOW Gallery in London
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions THE RECIPIENT OF NOW Gallery’s 2022 Young Artist Commission, Joy Yamusangie is staging an immersive solo show, envisioning the London gallery as a jazz club. Following collaborations with Gucci, Paul Smith, Penguin Books, and Nike, the Congolese-British artist sought to realize their own singular vision. Yamusangie’s...
Seeing in Texas: From Dallas to Houston and San Antonio, Museums are Showcasing a Spectrum of African American Art
Detail of “Lonnie Holley: Coming From the Earth” at Dallas Contemporary FOR HIS FIRST EXHIBITION IN TEXAS, Lonnie Holley, 72, is presenting a new series of ceramic works at Dallas Contemporary. The Alabama artist’s creativity is informed by struggle and hardship and draws on his curiosity. Holley works in a variety of mediums but...
Simone Leigh Opens Much-Anticipated, Historic Exhibition at Venice Biennale, Becomes First Black Female Artist to Present Solo Show in U.S. Pavilion
Venice Biennale: “Simone Leigh: Sovereignty,” U.S. Pavilion, 2022 A TOWERING SCULPTURE pays homage to the ritual performances of the Baga peoples of the Guinea coast. Face jugs made by enslaved and free African Americans in the Edgefield District of South Carolina inspired a five-foot-tall vessel embellished with outsized forms that read as cowrie shells....
On View: See Images of Akinsanya Kambon’s Pan-African Inspired Ceramic Sculptures at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City
Ceramic works by Akinsanya Kambon at Jack Shainman Gallery in New York City On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions MAKING HIS SOLO DEBUT in New York City, Akinsanya Kambon is presenting figurative sculptures and wall reliefs at Jack Shainman Gallery. The ceramic works were made using an American raku firing technique, creating...
‘Black American Portraits’ Showcases 140 Artworks, Two Centuries of Representation Across Geographies and Diverse Practices
Installation view of “Black American Portraits,” Los Angeles County Museum of Art THE OBAMA PORTRAITS were such a hit at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., the museum launched a multi-city tour to give people throughout the country a chance to see the historic paintings. Kehinde Wiley‘s portrait of President Barack Obama...
On View: See Images From ‘Hew Locke: The Procession,’ New Tate Britain Commission in London is Parade Through Time, Geography, and Cultures
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions A NEW LARGE-SCALE INSTALLATION by Hew Locke, “The Procession” features nearly 150 life-sized figures outfitted in hand-made garments and masks. The latest Tate Britain Commission is a sculptural gumbo evoking celebration, sorrow, and world events across time—from slavery to climate change, the Black Lives Matter Movement,...
