The Month in African American Art: Here’s What Happened in March 2018
The following review of March 2018 presents a snapshot of the latest news in African American art and related culture: NEWS | The Fifth Avenue building that housed the Studio Museum in Harlem when it was founded in 1968 is being razed. | Photo by Elizabeth Dee Gallery via Artforum NEWS When...
New ART21 Film Documents Jack Whitten in the Studio Working on His Last Painting
LAST OCTOBER, ART21 collaborated with Jack Whitten (1939-2018) on a short film about his life and work. Shot in his studio, “An Artist’s Life: Jack Whitten” captures him making a painting titled “Quantum Wall, VIII (For Arshile Gorky, My First Love In Painting),” as he explains his innovative methods and techniques. He also talks...
Amy Sherald is Joining Hauser & Wirth, the Mega-Gallery Announced its Worldwide Representation of the Baltimore-Based Artist
HAUSER & WIRTH ANNOUNCED its representation of Amy Sherald March 20. The Baltimore-based artist paints imaginative portraits of ordinary African Americans. She recently took on a well-known subject for the first time when she was commissioned to paint First Lady Michelle Obama whose portrait was unveiled at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery on Feb....
The Broad Acquires Mark Bradford’s Record-Setting ‘Helter Skelter I,’ Along with Works by Julie Mehretu, Kerry James Marshall
Detail of Mark Bradford’s “Helter Skelter I” (2007). ART MARKET HISTORY WAS MADE earlier this month when “Helter Skelter I,” a monumental painting by Mark Bradford sold for $10.4 million (nearly $12 million, including fees) at Phillips London. The price was the highest-ever achieved at auction for a work by a living African American...
National Museum of Women in the Arts Acquires Two Works by Mildred Thompson, the Late Artist Known for Her Energetic Abstractions
MILDRED THOMPSON, “Magnetic Fields,” 1990 THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF WOMEN IN THE ARTS celebrated the birthday of Mildred Thompson (1936-2003) with the announcement of two acquisitions. Under-recognized in her lifetime, the Atlanta-based artist worked in abstraction, making paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture. Thompson was featured prominently in “Magnetic Fields: Expanding American Abstraction, 1960s to...
Prominent Artists Are Donating Their Works to Help Support Studio Museum in Harlem’s Building Project
Clockwise, from top left, Sam Gilliam, Lorna Simpson, Mark Bradford, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Glenn Ligon Julie Mehretu, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and Rashid Johnson. | via Sotheby’s ARTISTS WITH CLOSE TIES to the Studio Museum in Harlem are donating works to support the historic institution’s construction campaign. Creating Space: Artists for The Studio Museum in Harlem:...
Mark Bradford ‘Helter Skelter’ Painting Sells for Nearly $12 Million, Highest-Ever Auction Price for Work by Living African American Artist
MARK BRADFORD, Detail of “Helter Skelter I,” 2007 A MONUMENTAL PAINTING by Mark Bradford reached a historic benchmark at Phillips London on March 8. “Helter Skelter I” sold for 8,671,500 British Pounds, about $10.4 million (nearly $12 million, including fees), an artist record, and the highest-ever auction price achieved by a living African American...
Michelle Obama’s Viral Video with Young Admirer Opens Window Into Her Collection of African American Art
Parker, I'm so glad I had the chance to meet you today (and for the dance party)! Keep on dreaming big for yourself…and maybe one day I'll proudly look up at a portrait of you! A post shared by Michelle Obama (@michelleobama) on Mar 6, 2018 at 9:19am PST Michelle Obama visits with her new...
Chicago-Based Artist McArthur Binion is Now Represented by Lehmann Maupin
McArthur Binion, 2017 Venice Biennale. LEHMAN MAUPIN GALLERY announced its representation of McArthur Binion today. His autobiographical abstract works are realized in tightly composed grid patterns. For more than four decades, the Chicago-based artist has been exploring the format through painting, drawing, and collage. Binion’s paintings were presented at the 2017 Venice Biennale, part...
The Month in African American Art: Here’s What Happened in February 2018
Kara Walker and her crew install “The Katastwóf Karavan” at Algiers Point in New Orleans. | Photo © Ari Marcopoulos by via Prospect New Orleans BLACK HISTORY MONTH was rife with notable moments in art history, chief among them, the unveiling of the Obama portraits at the National Portrait Gallery on Feb 12. Washington...
Adrienne Edwards Has Been Appointed Curator of Performance at the Whitney Museum
THE WHITNEY MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART in New York City is welcoming a new curator of performance. Adrienne Edwards was appointed the museum’s Engell Speyer Family Curator and Curator of Performance today. She is joining the Whitney in May. Edwards is a curator at Performa and a curator at-large at the Walker Art Center in...
Remembering Peggy Cooper Cafritz, the Passionate Art Collector and Education Advocate Died at 70
Arts and Education Advocate Peggy Cooper Caftritz (1947-2018) FOR THOSE WHO CARE ABOUT equity and access in arts and education, a major ally and important advocate has been lost. Peggy Cooper Cafrtiz (1947-2018), the Washington, D.C., arts patron who co-founded the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, died Feb. 18 at a local hospital....
Painting Power, Capturing Character: Smithsonian Unveils Official Obama Portraits
WASHINGTON, DC—There are many ways to define and depict power. When President Obama’s portrait was unveiled Monday, it was a reminder that leadership, command, and influence, can be inspiring and reassuring, powerful and black. Kehinde Wiley’s portrait of the former president artfully captures the man and the symbol. The image of the first African...
Knoxville Museum of Art Acquires 12 Beauford Delaney Works, Plans Major Exhibition in 2019
BEAUFORD DELANEY, “Portrait of James Baldwin,” 1944 FORTY YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH, Beauford Delaney’s hometown museum plans a major exhibition dedicated to his work. Since 2014, the Knoxville Museum of Art (KMA) has been amassing a collection works by the artist. On Feb. 1, the museum announced the purchase of 12 paintings, drawings, and...
2018 David C. Driskell Prize is Going to Artist Amy Sherald
THIS MORNING, the High Museum of Art in Atlanta announced Amy Sherald is the recipient of the 2018 David C. Driskell Prize. Sherald is celebrated for her imaginative portraits of real people and in the past few years has received wide-spread recognition for her distinct work. Recently, she was commissioned to paint First Lady Michelle...
The Month in African American Art: Here’s What Happened in January 2018
The art world is mourning artist Jack Whitten (left) and curator Kynaston McShine. THE WORLD OF ART lost two important figures in January—inventive abstract painter Jack Whitten (1939-2018) and pioneering MoMA curator Kynaston McShine (1935-2018). In “Jack Whitten: Five Decades of Painting,” the catalog published to coincide with Whitten’s career-spanning survey (2014-15), the artist...
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Hires Curator Allison Glenn, Expanding its Contemporary Art Team
THE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM of American Art announced the appointment of Allison Glenn as associate curator, contemporary art. She joins the museum’s expanding contemporary art team and will contribute to all aspects of its work, including exhibition development, publications, and long-term planning. Glenn begins work at Crystal Bridges on Feb. 12. Glenn comes to...
Coming Soon: Major Charles White Retrospective to be Presented at Museum of Modern Art, Art Institute of Chicago, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art
A LARGE-SCALE RETROSPECTIVE of works by Charles White (1918-1979) debuts this summer in Chicago and will travel to New York and Los Angeles, cities where the artist spent key periods of his life. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) announced the exhibition today. “Charles White: A Retrospective” is organized by MoMA, where it will...
Studio Museum in Harlem Offers ‘Last Look’ Before Making Way for New Building
AN ERA IN ART HISTORY is coming to an end in order to make way for the future. The Studio Museum in Harlem is closing for three years while a new building designed by architect David Adjaye is built at its current West 125th Street location. The groundbreaking is set for this fall and...
On the Horizon in African American Art: What to Look Forward to in 2018
THE YEAR AHEAD MARKS KEY HISTORIC MILESTONES. Fifty years ago, Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tenn. King’s legacy will be honored this year through many programs and events. A new exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture examines the 1968 Poor People’s Campaign,...
