Lauren Haynes to Curate Focus Section of 2019 Armory Show
Curator Lauren Haynes THE CURATORIAL TEAM for the 2019 Armory Show was announced this week. Lauren Haynes is curating the New York City art fair’s Focus section, which is “devoted to solo- and dual-artist presentations by relevant and compelling artists.” This year, Ryan Lee Gallery presented a solo show of works by Emma Amos...
Latest News: Trailblazing New York Times Photographer Has Died, Hamza Walker Will Curate Talks at Frieze Los Angeles & More
Thokaza township, Johannesburg (1991). Photo by Graeme Williams The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS New York-based artist Hank Willis Thomas has been accused by South African photographer Graeme Williams of using an iconic image he...
Latest News in African American Art: Howard University Loaning Two Charles White Works to MoMA, Aretha Franklin Honored on NYC Subway Signs & More
Jacob Lawrence-inspired shirts by Wales Bonner currently for sale at various retailers. The London-based menswear label was founded by Grace Wales Bonner. The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS This blurb originally referenced and linked to...
Latest News in African American Art: Okwui Enwezor Speaks Out, Artist Lauren Halsey Wins $100,000 Mohn Award & More
The former director of Haus der Kunst and artistic director of the 2015 Venice Biennale, Okwui Ewezor gave an extensive interview to Spiegel about his tenure at the Munich museum. He also spoke recently to the Art Newspaper. | Photo by Joerg Koch for Getty Images The following review of the past week or...
She’s a ‘Brick House’: Simone Leigh’s Monumental Vision of a Black Woman is Inaugural Commission for High Line Plinth
In Progress: Simone Leigh assesses her towering “Brick House” sculpture. A STUNNING CLAY SCULPTURE by Simone Leigh rises 16-feet high in a Philadelphia foundry. Leigh’s monumental vision of a black woman is titled “Brick House” after the 1977 song by the Commodores. Blending architectural forms from West Africa and the American South with the...
Keishia Gu Named Head of Education at Getty Museum in Los Angeles
AFTER LIVING IN LOS ANGELES for 15 years, Keishia Gu said she is “delighted” to join the J. Paul Getty Museum as head of education. The museum announced her appointment today. Gu will lead programs for both educators and students at the Getty Trust and the Getty Villa. She begins her new position in...
Latest News in African American Art: SFMOMA Honoring Kara Walker, Titus Kaphar Nabs Rappaport Prize, Studio Museum Hires Legacy Russell, Akili Tommasino Joining MFA Boston
Cleveland Museum of Art The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The Cleveland Museum of Art announced its first Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion plan on Aug. 12. The result of a year-and-a-half collaboration among the institutions’s...
Los Angeles-based Conceptual Artist Charles Gaines Has Joined Hauser & Wirth Gallery
HAUSER & WIRTH has added pioneering conceptual artist Charles Gaines to its roster. With locations in New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, London, Zurich, Somerset, England,and Gstaad, Switzerland, the gallery will represent Gaines worldwide. The Los Angeles-based artist was previously represented by Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects and Paula Cooper Gallery. Gaines will continue...
Black Curators Have Been Making Significant Strides, Art Museums are Finally Getting on Board to Aid Their Progress
Legacy Russell, Larry Ossei-Mensah, and Naomi Beckwith, took on new curatorial roles this week. THE FOURTH ITERATION of Made in L.A. is currently on view at the Hammer Museum. The biennial features 33 emerging and under-recognized artists, some of the most interesting and thought-provoking figures working in the Los Angeles area. Spanning nearly four...
Barry Jenkins Shared Trailer for ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ on Baldwin’s Birthday
TO CELEBRATE JAMES BALDWIN’S BIRTHDAY, Barry Jenkins shared the trailer for “If Beale Street Could Talk” on Twitter. He wrote, “For me, August 2nd has always been a day to pay tribute, so… a teaser of what’s to come. Happy Birthday, Jimmy 🙏🏿🙌🏿♥️” Baldwin was born Aug. 2, 1924, and he published “If Beale...
Yinka Shonibare Wrapped More than 200 Books in ‘African’ Textiles, His ‘American Library’ is Designed to Start a Conversation About Immigration
YINKA SHONIBARE, Detail of “The American Library (Activists),” 2018 (hardback books, Dutch wax printed cotton textile, gold foiled names). | Courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York, Photo by Patrick Sampson THE MOST RECENT ADDITION to the collection at The Mead Art Museum at Amherst College is a series of books. The museum...
Latest News in African American Art: Philadelphia Mural Honors Couple That Sought to ‘Improve Negro Race,’ Detroit Art Week, Rashid Johnson Wins Aspen Award
Dickerson Building Mural by Ernel Martinez | via Philadelphia Mural Arts Program The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The legacy of George Edward Dickerson and Addie Whiteman Dickerson, a civic and politically active Philadelphia couple...
‘Soul of a Nation’ is Traveling to the West Coast, Exhibition Will Be on View in Spring 2019 at The Broad in Los Angeles
“Did the Bear Sit Under the Tree” (1969) by Benny Andrews THE INTERNATIONAL TOUR for “Soul of a Nation: Art in the Age of Black Power” has been extended. The exhibition will be on view at The Broad next March. The Los Angeles museum is the exhibition’s only West Coast venue and the show’s...
Loaded with Symbolism, a Fountain Sculpture by Pope.L is Among New Acquisitions at Carnegie Museum of Art
“Fountain (reparations version)” (2016-17) by Pope.L EARLIER THIS MONTH, the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh announced several new acquisitions, including “Fountain (reparations version)” (2016-17) by Chicago-based Pope.L. The sculpture is on view in the modern and contemporary galleries which have been re-hung to reflect the “depth, diversity, and eccentricities” of the Carnegie Museum’s...
Latest News in African American Art: Juergen Teller Appropriated the Work of Mickalene Thomas, VMFA Elected New Board President, Alma Thomas Papers Digitized
This December/January 2018 cover of Paris Vogue conjures the style of Mickalene Thomas, but the image was created by Juergen Teller. The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS The benefactor behind Anonymous Was a Woman, which...
PAFA Acquires Landscape Painting by May Howard Jackson, First African American Woman to Attend the Philadelphia Art School
THE PENNSYLVANIA ACADEMY of the Fine Arts (PAFA) recently acquired a particularly meaningful painting. “Morris Heights, N.Y. City” (1912) is an Impressionist landscape made by May Howard Jackson (1877-1931) more than a century ago. Jackson is a PAFA alum. She earned a scholarship in 1895 and became the first African American woman to attend...
Mitchell-Innes & Nash Announces Its Representation of Conceptual Artist Jacolby Satterwhite
Jacolby Satterwhite performing at SFMOMA in 2016. CONCEPTUAL ARTIST Jacolby Satterwhite has joined Mitchell-Innes & Nash. Satterwhite works in 3-D animation and performance. Trained as a painter, he has mastered new technology and the use of his body as a vessel for expression. He innovative practice harnesses these seemingly disparate assets to address key...
Artist Tony Lewis is Now Represented by Blum & Poe Gallery
CHICAGO-BASED ARTIST Tony Lewis has joined Blum & Poe. The gallery announced its representation of the Lewis one year after hosting its first show with the artist. “Tony Lewis: Jot” (April 28-June 17, 2017) presented new colored pencil and graphite drawings and was also the artist’s first exhibition in Los Angeles. Lewis’s expansive engagement...
Latest News in African American Art: New-York Historical Society Exploring Race in America, Frieze London Spotlighting Women Artists
Front row, from left, Melanie Keen, Amira Gad, and Zoe Whitley (second from right), are among the UK curators selecting women artists for a special section at Frieze London. | Photo by Tom Jamieson, Frieze London The following review of the past week or so presents a snapshot of the latest news in African...
Trevor Schoonmaker Elevated to Deputy Director at Duke University’s Nasher Museum of Art
TREVOR SCHOONMAKER took on a new role at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University this week. He was appointed Deputy Director of Curatorial Affairs and Patsy R. and Raymond D. Nasher Curator of Contemporary Art. Schoonmaker, 47, has been with the museum virtually from its beginning. The Nasher Museum opened in 2006...
