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...
Latest News in African American Art: Eric Mack Installation Vanishes, Harvard Sued Over Slave Photographs, Frieze Sculptures by Nick Cave, Hank Willis Thomas, and More
Installation view of “Halter” (2019) by Eric N. Mack at Desert X The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Harvard Sued for Profiting From Images of Slaves Tamara Lanier of Norwich, Conn., is suing Harvard for “wrongful...
Early Photograph of Harriet Tubman Displayed Publicly for First Time at Smithsonian African American Museum
A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN photograph of Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) depicts her seated with her arm draped over the back of a chair. Impeccably dressed, she wears a full skirt and buttoned bodice with detailed stitching on the sleeves. Believed to be the earliest image of Tubman in existence, the portrait of the storied abolitionist...
LeRonn P. Brooks Named Associate Curator at Getty Research Institute, Newly Created Position is Part of African American Art History Initiative
THE GETTY RESEARCH INSTITUTE (GRI) in Los Angeles announced a new hire today. LeRonn P. Brooks has been appointed associate curator for Modern and Contemporary Collections, specializing in African American art. Brooks is currently an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies at Lehman College in The Bronx, New York. At the Getty, he...
Prospect New Orleans Announces 2020 Dates, Appoints Director’s Council, Including Gia Hamilton, Courtney J. Martin, Valerie Cassel Oliver, and Franklin Sirmans
THE FIFTH EDITION of Prospect New Orleans officially opens to the public Oct. 24, 2020 and runs through Jan. 24, 2021. The triennial will feature artists from around the world and engage resources throughout New Orleans—the cultural community, arts institutions, and local sites. Prospect.5 is led by curators Naima J. Keith and Diana Nawi....
PAFA Receives Gift of 78 Artworks From Constance E. Clayton, Many by Artists with Ties to Philadelphia
PAINTINGS BY BEAUFORD DELANEY, Edward Bannister, Lois Mailou Jones, and Laura Wheeler Waring have been added to the collection of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) in Philadelphia. The works are part of a major gift from Constance E. Clayton, an arts advocate and former superintendent of the School District of Philadelphia....
With William L. Hawkins Exhibition Underway, Columbus Museum Announces Survey Featuring Tuskegee Photographers and New Acquisitions
THE COLUMBUS MUSEUM in Columbus, Ga., focuses on art and history, and one of its current exhibitions, “William L. Hawkins: An Imaginative Geography,” explores aspects of both. William L. Hawkins (1895-1990) was a self-taught artist who lived in Columbus, Ohio. Born in Kentucky, he moved to the Midwest city when he was 21. Best...
Latest News in African American Art: Lauren Halsey, Kapwani Kiwanga, and Christina Quarles Win Artist Awards & More
The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related black culture: Christina Quarles Named Inaugural Pérez Prize Recipient The Pérez Art Museum Miami announced Los Angeles-based artist Christina Quarles is the recipient of the first annual Perez Prize. Funded by The Jorge...
2019 Venice Biennale Artist List is Out, Selection Includes Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Arthur Jafa, Kahlil Joseph, Julie Mehretu, Zanele Muholi, and Henry Taylor
AN INTERNATIONAL SLATE of 79 artists has been selected to participate in the main exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale. This year’s edition of the international exhibition is titled “May You Live in Interesting Times” and is curated by Ralph Rugoff, director of the Hayward Gallery in London. The 2019 Venice Biennale is May...
Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi Appointed Curator in Painting and Sculpture Department at Museum of Modern Art
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (MoMA) has hired Ugochukwu-Smooth C. Nzewi. He is joining the New York City museum as the first Steven and Lisa Tananbaum Curator in the Department of Painting and Sculpture. Nzewi will be involved with all aspects of the department’s planning, programming, and scholarship, including acquisitions, developing exhibitions and catalogs, and...
