Water Works: Los Angeles-Based Artist Calida Rawles is Now Represented by Lehmann Maupin Gallery
LEHMANN MAUPIN announced its representation of Calida Rawles. Based in Los Angeles, she is recognized for her images of Black men, women, and young people submerged and floating in waves of pool water. Blending hyper-realism and abstraction, each of the paintings is grounded in spaces of stunning, deep blue color. Drawing on the symbolism...
The Week in Black Art, February 15-21, 2021: Art Institute of Chicago Hires People and Culture VP, Phillips Collection and Newark Museum of Art Announce New Board Appointments
This post will be updated throughout the week Feb. 19, 2021 Art Institute of Chicago Appoints Leader of People and Culture Norissa Bailey is joining the Art Institute of Chicago as senior vice president, People and Culture. In her new post, she will “shape the museum’s efforts on inclusion and belonging, staff engagement,...
National Gallery of Art Acquires Howardena Pindell’s Seminal Video ‘Free, White and 21’
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) recently acquired “Free, White and 21” (1980), a seminal video installation by artist Howardena Pindell. She was 37 years old when she filmed herself facing the camera recounting her personal experiences with racism and bias as a young Black woman in America. Pindell also performs as a white...
Painter Jordan Casteel, Who Portrays Her Subjects with Illuminating Detail, is Now Represented by Massimo de Carlo Gallery
MASSIMO DE CARLO announced its representation of painter Jordan Casteel, whose illuminating portraits capture detailed observations of her subjects—primarily young Black men, her students, and residents of the culturally rich community of Harlem. She is now jointly represented by Casey Kaplan in New York and Massimo de Carlo, which has gallery locations in Milan, London,...
The Week in Black Art, Feb. 8-14, 2021: Alexis Johnson Takes Senior Role at Paula Cooper Gallery, Cummer Museum Appoints 4 Black Board Members, April Bey Now Repped by Gavlak Gallery
“Portrait of a Mother and Daughter” (1841) by Robert S. Duncanson. | Hammonds House Museum This post will be updated throughout the week Feb. 13, 2021 Oldest Robert Duncanson Painting The inauguration of President Joseph Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris brought renewed attention to 19th century artist Robert S. Duncanson...
The Week in Black Art: Feb. 1-7, 2021 – Detroit Artist Charles McGee Has Died, Lauren Halsey Nabs Jacob Lawrence Prize, Black Rock Senegal Artists Named, Nick Cave Wins Public Art Battle
This post will be updated throughout the week ELDZIER CORTER, “Southern Souvenir No. II,” circa 1948 (oil on board mounted on Masonite™ on wood strainer, 35 1/2 x 64 1/2 inches). | Art Bridges. © Estate of Eldzier Cortor / Artist Rights Society (ARS), New York Feb. 5, 2021 Eldzier Cortor...
Derek Fordjour Has Joined David Kordansky Gallery, His Explorations of Race and Identity Invoke Culture of Sport, Symbolism of Teams
DAVID KORDANSKY GALLERY in Los Angeles announced its representation of Derek Fordjour this morning. He will continue to be represented by Petzel Gallery, where he had a major exhibition, “Derek Fordjour: Self Must Die,” last fall. Fordjour expresses himself through painting, sculpture and installation. Employing layers of cardboard, newspaper, and paint, a complex visual materiality...
Akili Tommasino Headed to Metropolitan Museum of Art as Associate Curator
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York has hired Akili Tommasino as associate curator in the Modern and Contemporary Art department. A scholar of the 20th-century avant-grade, Tommasino is currently a curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. He starts at The Met in April. The appointment was first reported by ARTnews on...
Landscape With Rainbow: Robert Duncanson Painting Was Part of Official Biden-Harris Inauguration Celebration at U.S. Capitol
“Landscape With Rainbow” (1859) by Robert Duncanson SPEAKING TO BRIGHTER HORIZONS, a painting by Robert Duncanson played a special role in the Presidential Inauguration activities yesterday. “Landscape With Rainbow” (1859) was displayed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, on loan for one day from the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM). Duncanson is the first Black...
Lawrence Jackson: Black Photographer Will Document Historic White House Tenure of Incoming Vice President Kamala Harris
Photographer Lawrence Jackson THE TENURE OF THE FIRST WOMAN, first Black, and first Asian American to serve as Vice President of the United States will be visually documented by a Black photographer. Lawrence Jackson was named photographer to Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris on Jan. 15. The Biden-Harris transition announced a number of White House...
Guggenheim Announces Major Appointment, Naming Naomi Beckwith Deputy Director and Chief Curator
THE SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM in New York has hired Naomi Beckwith to serve as deputy director and Jennifer and David Stockman Chief Curator. The announcement was made today by the museum’s director Richard Armstrong. It’s a major appointment that comes against the backdrop of select museums nationwide facing accusations of racism from their employees...
National Gallery of Art Makes 4 New Hires, Including First Curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic Art
THE NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART (NGA) announced four new appointments today, including hires for three newly created positions. Kanitra Fletcher is the Washington, D.C., museum’s first-ever associate curator of African American and Afro-Diasporic art. Chief Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Officer Mikka Gee Conway and Eric Bruce, head of visitor experience and evaluation, are also inaugurating...
Brenna Youngblood is Now Represented by Roberts Projects in Los Angeles
AFTER FEATURING TWO WORKS by Brenna Youngblood at Art Basel OVR: Miami Beach, the digital art fair held in December, Roberts Projects in Los Angeles announced its representation of the multidisciplinary artist yesterday. Youngblood expresses herself through abstraction and often integrates found objects and materials into her work, many with personal significance. Trained as a...
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco Hire Curator of African Art, Natasha Becker is First to Serve in Newly Created Position
THE FINE ARTS MUSEUMS of San Francisco (the de Young and Legion of Honor) expanded their curatorial team at the end of the year, hiring an inaugural curator of African art. Natasha Becker officially started at the Museums in the newly created role on Dec. 1. Working in the department of the arts of Africa,...
On the Rise: 54 Curators and Arts Leaders Who Took on New Appointments in 2020
REGULAR OPERATIONS AT MUSEUMS and cultural institutions were disrupted this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sector faced (and continues to contend with) temporary closures, severe financial losses, widespread layoffs, and racial reckonings. Against this backdrop and despite these challenges, dozens of Black curators were appointed to a variety of new posts this...
‘Deborah Roberts: The Evolution of Mimi’ Exhibition Catalog Wins Publication Award
PUBLISHED TO DOCUMENT her solo exhibition at the Spelman College Museum of Fine Art in Atlanta, “Deborah Roberts: The Evolution of Mimi” is the first major publication to explore the work of artist Deborah Roberts. It’s an exceptional volume and an award winner. “Deborah Roberts: The Evolution of Mimi” received a 2020 Mary Ellen...
Victoria Miro Gallery Now Represents Painter Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Painter Kudzanai-Violet Hwami, 2019. | Photo © Jo Metson Scott VICTORIA MIRO IN LONDON has added Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (b. 1993, Zimbabwe) to its roster. Hwami’s work explores themes of identity, displacement, the diaspora, and the Black body, often in the form of intimate nudes. Working with sourced images and family photographs, she makes figurative...
Yesomi Umolu is Tapped for Top Curatorial Post at The Serpentine in London
THE SERPENTINE in London has appointed Yesomi Umolu director of curatorial affairs and public practice. In the newly created position, Umolu will lead all of Serpentine’s curatorial, educational, and editorial programming. The news was announced Nov. 18. Founded in 1970, Serpentine is marking a half century of presenting contemporary art this year and is taking...
Lauren Tate Baeza Appointed Curator of African Art at High Museum of Art in Atlanta
Curator Lauren Tate Baeza THE HIGH MUSEUM OF ART in Atlanta appointed Lauren Tate Baeza as its Fred and Rita Richman curator of African art. She will oversee the Atlanta museum’s African art department. A curator and Africanist with experience working with museums and international aid organizations, Baeza has been serving as the director...
Stuart Clarke Rises to Board Chair at Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore
THE MARYLAND INSTITUTE COLLEGE OF ART (MICA) announced new board leadership. Stuart Clarke has served on MICA’s board of trustees since 2015, most recently as vice chair. On Oct. 16, he was unanimously elected chair and immediately assumed leadership of the Baltimore institution‘s governing body. “Our times and MICA’s specific context and opportunities call for...
