Portrait of ‘Imara in Her Winter Coat’ Earns Top Prize in UK Competition, 12 Portraits Depicting Black Subjects are Recognized
A STRIKING PORTRAIT of a black woman was awarded first prize at the National Portrait Gallery in London. “Imara in Her Winter Coat” by Charlie Schaffer won the BP Portrait Award 2019. The winning portrait and 43 other top entries will be on view in an exhibition that opens June 13 at the National...
United Talent Agency Taps Arthur Lewis to Lead UTA Fine Arts and UTA Artist Space
UNITED TALENT AGENCY announced today that Arthur Lewis will lead the fine arts arm of the Los Angeles-based talent and entertainment firm. Lewis will serve as creative director of UTA Fine Arts and UTA Artist Space, advising visual artists represented by the agency and overseeing exhibitions, programming and partnerships through its Beverly Hills presentation and...
Photograph From Kitchen Table Series by Carrie Mae Weems Sets New Artist Record at Phillips Auction
A PHOTOGRAPH from Kitchen Table Series, the seminal body of work Carrie Mae Weems created in 1990, set a new artist record today. “Untitled (man smoking) from Kitchen Table Series” sold for $70,000 (including fees). The price was about twice the estimate of $25,000-$35,000. The record was set May 7 during “Artist | Icon...
58th Venice Biennale: Arthur Jafa Wins Golden Lion Award, Top Artist Prize
Arthur Jafa accepts 2019 Golden Lion in Venice. AN INTERNATIONAL JURY awarded the top artist prize at the 58th Venice Biennale to Arthur Jafa. The American artist and filmmaker won the Golden Lion recognizing the best participant in “May You Live in Interesting Times,” the international exhibition curated by Ralph Rugoff. Jafa was honored...
Latest News in African American Art: Camille Billops (1933-2019), Joe Overstreet (1933-2019)
Camille Billops (1933-2019), Joe Overstreet (1933-2019) The following review presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: TWO LEGENDARY New York City artists have died. Painter Joe Overstreet passed away yesterday. He co-founded Kenkeleba House, a Lower East Side artist space in 1974. Meanwhile, Camille Billops, a singular figure...
Leah Chase, Pioneering Creole Chef and Passionate Art Collector, Has Died at 96
Chef Leah Chase (1923-2019) THE COLLECTION of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., includes portraits of America’s most iconic figures—legends of culture, politics, and history. When the most prominent among these national treasures dies, the Smithsonian museum recognizes their life and legacy by displaying their portrait in a designated In Memoriam space on...
Latest News in African American Art: Museum Staffers are Publicizing Their Salaries, Racial Profiling at MFA Boston, New Archibald Motley Painting at DIA, and More
“Café, Paris” (1929) by Archibald J. Motley Jr., at DIA The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Museum Staffers are Sharing Their Salaries on a Google Spreadsheet Employees of museums across the country are publicizing their...
Lanka Tattersall Joins MoMA as Curator in the Drawings and Prints Department
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MoMA) in New York is welcoming a new curator. Earlier this month, Lanka Tattersall was named curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints. The appointment marks a return to MoMA. Tattersall served previously as a curatorial assistant in the museum’s Department of Painting and Sculpture for four years (2010-14)....
Lonnie Bunch is Taking Over the Smithsonian Institution. Named Secretary, He Will Lead 19 Museums and National Zoo
Smithsonian Secretary-elect Lonnie G. Bunch III THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION’S Board of Regents launched a search for a new leader in December and found the ideal candidate was already in its midst. This morning, the Smithsonian announced the election of Lonnie G. Bunch III, who will serve as the 14th Secretary. Bunch is the founding...
Artist Meleko Mokgosi Appointed Associate Professor of Painting/Printmaking at Yale School of Art
THE YALE SCHOOL OF ART announced the appointment of Meleko Mokgosi as associate professor of painting/printmaking on May 14. A painter, Mokgosi uses figuration and representation to explore political themes, notions of democracy, and post-colonialism in Southern Africa. His tenure-track appointment begins July 2019. “As an artist and an educator, Meleko Mokgosi is dedicated...
’60 Minutes’ Profiled Mark Bradford, Introducing Him as One of America’s ‘Most Important and Influential Artists’
ANDERSON COOPER is a CNN anchor, 60 Minutes correspondent, and art collector who owns works by Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Toyin Ojih Odutola, and Mark Bradford. Called “The Hood is Moody,” his Bradford work is made with end papers—rectangles of white tissue paper used to set hair. On Sunday, Cooper profiled Bradford on “60 Minutes,”...
Simone Leigh is at the Guggenheim, the Whitney, and Even on CBS Where She Said: ‘It’s So Shocking What is Happening to Me’
CBS NEWS reports on a broad range of issues and on occasion turns its attention to visual art. Last Saturday was one of those moments, when Simone Leigh was profiled on CBS This Morning. The network appearance is the latest development in a succession of new opportunities and recognition over the past five years, culminating...
Artist Deborah Roberts Joined Vielmetter Los Angeles and Has an Exhibition at Gallery’s New Downtown Space
Deborah Roberts is presenting “Native Sons: Many thousands gone” at Vielmetter Los Angeles VIELMETTER LOS ANGELES announced its representation of Deborah Roberts in late February and her first exhibition with the gallery opened last week. Roberts is known primarily for her collage on paper works. The Austin, Texas-based artist makes abstracted representations of black...
San Francisco Art Institute Commencement to Honor Black Panther Minister of Culture Emory Douglas
MEMBERS OF THE BLACK PANTHER PARTY will be honored at the San Francisco Art Institute’s commencement on May 18. Emory Douglas, artist and minister of culture for the Black Panther Party, is receiving an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts, which is described as the highest honor bestowed by the institution. Fellow Panther Party members...
American Academy of Arts & Sciences Announces 2019 Members Including Artist Mark Bradford, Scholar/Curator Kellie Jones, and Poet Elizabeth Alexander
MORE THAN 200 high-achieving individuals have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. On April 17, the academy announced new members for 2019 include poet and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation president Elizabeth Alexander, artist Mark Bradford, Columbia University scholar/curator Kellie Jones, First Lady Michelle Obama, and actress and playwright Anna Deavere...
Charles Gaines is Latest in Long Line of Great Artists to Receive MacDowell Medal
LOS ANGELES-BASED Charles Gaines is the latest recipient of the prestigious Edward MacDowell Medal. The MacDowell Colony announced last week that Gaines was selected for the honor. He will receive the 60th MacDowell Medal on Aug. 11 at a free public event on the grounds of the colony in Peterborough, N.H. The recognition comes as...
Artists Wangechi Mutu and Kara Walker Land Major Museum Commissions
Wangechi Mutu at the Metropolitan Museum of Art THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART in New York and the Tate Modern in London recently announced new artist commissions. The Met plans a series of contemporary art installations at its Fifth Avenue flagship. For one of the projects, Wangechi Mutu is creating sculptures that will be...
Glenn Ligon, Known for His Text-Based Paintings, Has Joined Hauser & Wirth
HAUSER & WIRTH is now representing artist Glenn Ligon. The gallery officially announced the news today, following an article about the representation published yesterday in ARTnews that cited an earlier report from Baer Faxt, a newsletter the covers the art industry. With language as a guiding force, Ligon explores American history and the African...
Brooklyn-Based Artist Nathaniel Mary Quinn is Now Represented by Gagosian
GAGOSIAN ANNOUNCED its representation of Nathaniel Mary Quinn yesterday. Working with family photos and images from fashion magazines, Quinn makes composite portraits that draw on memory and explore the complex relationship between reality and perception. He lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y. Nathaniel Mary Quinn’s mother died when he was a teenager. He...
San Francisco Bound: Another Stop Added to ‘Soul of a Nation’ Tour, Exhibition Headed to de Young Museum This Fall
“What’s Goin On” (1974) by Barkley L. Hendricks A SECOND CALIFORNIA STOP has been added to the “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” tour. The exhibition is headed to the de Young Museum in San Francisco, where it will open Nov. 9. “Soul of a Nation” presents about 150...
