The Atlantic Explores Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy Through a Contemporary Lens, with Contributions From Artists LaToya Ruby Frazier and Kara Walker
KARA WALKER, “Dr. King,” 2015 THE YEAR 2018 coincides with many historic milestones. It’s been a half century since the Studio Museum in Harlem was founded, the Chicago artist collective AFRICOBRA was formed, Olympic track athletes raised their fists at the Mexico City games in a stand for racial justice, and the Kerner Commission...
New Artforum Editor Describes Kia LaBeija as ‘An Artist I Immediately Needed Know’
AN AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHIC SELF-PORTRAIT by Kia LaBeija covers the January issue of Artforum. LaBeija is a young African American artist who describes her practice as exploring “her personal narrative and the relationship between space, trauma, and the female body.” David Velasco, the new editor of Artforum, says he saw LaBeija’s work for the first...
Meeting of Minds: Times Style Magazine Brings Together Jay Z, Artist Henry Taylor, and Editor Dean Baquet
JAY Z IS FEATURED on the latest cover of T magazine, the New York Times style publication. A painting by Henry Taylor,—a portrait of the rapper, music mogul, and business man—illustrates a wide-ranging interview conducted by Dean Baquet, the executive editor of the Times. The newspaper’s top editor doesn’t often stray from his leadership...
Jordan Casteel’s Portraits Bring Visibility to Black Men in Harlem
BIGGIE SMALLS APPEARS ON THE COVER of the latest edition of Frieze magazine. The slain rapper is wearing one of his signature Cosby sweaters, a gold chain and dark shades. His image is emblazoned on a red hoodie worn by Quentin, an African American man who is the subject of a painting by Jordan...
Annual List of Top 100 Art World Power Players Includes Notable Rankings for Thelma Golden, African American Artists
From left, Curator Thelma Golden. | Photo © Julie Skarratt; Artist Kara Walker. | Photo by Paul Zimmerman, Getty Images THELMA GOLDEN IS THE EIGHTH most powerful person in the art world, according to Art Review. The London-based international contemporary art magazine published its 2017 Power 100 list of the most influential figures in...
Artforum: Powerful Clenched Fist Sculpture by Elizabeth Catlett Graces November Cover
THE BLACK POWER MOVEMENT was about strength, community, black identity and self determination. All of these characteristics are present in “Black Unity” by Elizabeth Catlett. Created in 1968, Catlett’s powerful, wood sculpture covers of the latest issue of Artforum magazine. It’s been a tumultuous couple of weeks at Artforum. Knight Landesman, one of its...
WSJ. Magazine Recognizes Mark Bradford’s Banner Year with 2017 Innovator Award
ART SHOULD GET RIGHT UP IN YOUR FACE. “A good art work should rush out so close up to you that you are so uncomfortable. It should just rush out and get in your face,” Mark Bradford says in a new WSJ. The Wall Street Journal Magazine video. He talks about how America is...
Anderson Cooper on His Newfound Passion for Contemporary Art: ‘I Really Love Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Toyin Ojih Odutola’
ABOUT TWO YEARS AGO, Anderson Cooper “got really serious” about collecting art. In an interview with Town & Country, the CNN anchor and 60 Minutes correspondent discusses how he and his partner Benjamin Maisani are assembling a collection that represents their disparate tastes and shared interests. Of the two, Maisani is the veteran collector...
Kadir Nelson Depicts Father and Daughter on Brooklyn Stoop for New Yorker Cover
ENVISIONING NEW YORK IN THE FALL, Kadir Nelson‘s latest cover illustration for The New Yorker magazine depicts a father and daughter sitting on the stoop of a Brooklyn brownstone. “Sitting on the stoop is such a New York thing,” Nelson told Françoise Mouly, art editor of The New Yorker. “Brownstones, stoops, leaves turning: that’s...
Cover Artist: Henry Taylor Graces Summer Issue of Cultured Magazine
IN ADVANCE OF “A Portrait Show” (June 11-July 22, 2017), Henry Taylor‘s solo exhibition at Galerie Eva Presenhuber in Zurich, Switzerland, Cultured magazine visited the artist in his studio. The publication paired Hamza Walker, executive director of LAXART, with Taylor. Both live and work in Los Angeles. The artist was still working on canvases...
‘One of the Most Influential Artists Anywhere’: Kerry James Marshall Makes ‘Time’ 100 List
Photograph by Broomberg & Chanarin via Time TIME MAGAZINE ANNOUNCED its annual assessment of the 100 Most Influential People and artist Kerry James Marshall made the list. The 2017 roundup of people at the forefront of ideas, innovation, power and change, includes major figures in five categories—pioneers, artists, leaders, titans, and icons. Pope Francis,...
Kara Walker Covers New York Magazine’s Special Art & Design Issue
Cover Artist: Kara Walker on New York magazine’s Art & Design issue (April 17-30, 2017). FOR THE NEW ART & DESIGN ISSUE of New York magazine, writer Doreen St. Félix profiles Kara Walker. She spent time with the 47-year-old artist at her brownstone in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, her Garment District studio, and also talking...
Henry Taylor’s March Cover of Art in America Magazine is Inspired by 1968 Photo of Cicely Tyson and Miles Davis
FOR THE MARCH COVER of Art in America magazine Henry Taylor was inspired by a society photograph from half a century ago. Titled “Cicely and Miles Visit the Obamas” the Los Angeles-based painter imagines Cicely Tyson and Miles Davis (1926-1991) visiting President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama at the White House. The...
Ebony Cover by Illustrator Kadir Nelson Projects ‘American Ideals, African American Patriotism, and Love of Family’
STANDING PROUD AND UNITED, a multi-generational African American family is featured on the February 2017 cover of Ebony magazine. They stand before a brick home on an expanse of land with a city skyline visible in the background. The image illustrates a special package featuring 10 thought leaders weighing in on how black communities...
